


Double Trouble

by MAngel05



Series: Bleach Stories [3]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bullying, F/M, Family, Gen, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2019-05-25 08:11:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 23,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14972882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MAngel05/pseuds/MAngel05
Summary: He was the hollow, she was his victim and then Shiba Isshin and Urahara changed everything. Five years passed imprisoned when a light shone brightly; but in touching that bright soul that was about to be born, the hollow was changed. Now born human, can Shiro keep his identity or will he lose it as time passes?





	1. Survive

**Chapter 1** : _Survive_

* * *

 

 _Damn that Shinigami. Damn them all!_ A being with a black body wearing a white horned mask growled in frustration. It was sealed and bound now. There was no escape. He would be stuck inside the Quincy woman forever with no escape. _There has to be a way for me to escape._ He thought as he scanned every which way, but the damn Shinigami was good at sealing off all of the escapes. He screamed in frustration. With no physical form, the hollow once known as white snarled in frustration as it waited for the strings binding him to this Quincy bitch would weaken.

It wasn't a long wait, only five years later did something occur. A bright light with a new soul suddenly appeared in the body of the woman. The Quincy woman had bred herself with the Shinigami. Taking this moment as the moment he'd escape, white had no idea what he was in for when he touched the new soul. It wasn't just bright, it was damn painful to be near it. This child was powerful and any hollow worth its salt would love to gobble it up, but as he tried to absorb the new soul, he found himself being the one that was being absorbed.

"No!" he screamed in fear. He did not survive Aizen's experimentations and five years trapped in this woman to be absorbed by her offspring! Clawing his way to get away from the new soul, white fought for its right to exist. The new soul suddenly split its form, as two souls began to fight to exist.

White passed out from exhaustion. It no longer sensed that new soul. _Did I kill it?_ he wondered as unconsciousness came over the once long ago hollow.

He didn't become aware again until many months later. He stretched himself out as he realized that he hadn't moved in a long time. He then made a startling discovery. He had hands again. Not just hands, but a torso that had legs connected to them. It was a wonderful discovery! How could this be? He had been nothing but a mask in that woman's inner world for so long after his power had been sealed away. He moved his hands in front of his face and was examining them when something kicked him in the back. Mild annoyance filled him as he tried to move himself around and attack his attacker. It took a long time for him to move and by the time he was turned around, exhaustion filled him once more.

Waking up to being kicked in the stomach was not a great way to greet the world. White opened his eyes but found that he couldn't see much of anything except his hands. When he felt the kick once again he gave a strong kick right back and grinned as the attacker stopped, but then the attacker was back again and he kicked and punched right back.

Suddenly he heard muffled voices. "They're active today." a woman's voice spoke. "I think they're jumping in my belly." A lighthearted giggle caused White to frown. The kicking stopped after awhile and soon after exhaustion filled White once more.

Every day seemed to be filled with these surprise attacks from his visitor. Soon the space around him began to get smaller as he got bigger. Then one morning he woke up to a head against his chest. The film between them was thinner now too. He got a real good look at his attacker and realized something. That new bright soul he'd felt months ago was this very being with its head on his chest. It was then White realized with horror that, although he wasn't absorbed by the being, he was now stuck with it in this increasingly small space. He really did not like this, at all.

As the weeks passed White could hear the voices more clearly now. According to what it understood, he was one of two babies being born to the Living World. His soul had been placed within a human baby's body. How had this grievance even occured? He found that he was annoyed by this.

The space was getting even tighter now. His head was stuck against the chest of his supposed brothers chest. The second babe had gotten bigger than himself. They both had gotten turned around, but now some sort of cord was wrapped around them, keeping them tightly held together. He did not like this position at all, not one bit. Giving out a kick of frustration he heard the woman outside give a pained gasp before rubbing her hand over the area the two were. He gave another strong kick in mild annoyance. His sibling joining him in his fun until suddenly the liquid around him began to leak out from above their heads.

Suddenly the walls around him began to contract as if trying to expel him out. He wasn't going quietly and fought against the pulls and pushes that were forcing him towards the opening. Suddenly the other baby was being pulled forward. Not wanting to be left behind White grasped the other child's ankle. He was not leaving him behind! Damn it, they'd been in this space for too long for a hollow like him to not give a damn about where the other was going.

The walls contracted around them and suddenly White lost his grip on the other as it slipped free and into the outside world. He wiggled and as another contraction occured, White let himself be pushed out and into the outside world where he was suddenly blinded by a white light; which caused him to scream in pain.

* * *

 

After hours of painful labor, Masaki could finally feel the end coming as her firstborn son came into the world. Isshin was grinning broadly as he was handed their first child, but suddenly pain filled her, making her scream loudly as the second child seemed to squirming to get out of her. It seemed almost panicked, desperate to get out. She felt hot tears fall down her cheeks as she cried in such pain as the second child came so quickly that she swore she was going into shock. There was barely any time between the contractions. She didn't hear the doctor, nor did she hear Isshin's words of comfort. With one last cry of pain, she fell back against the hospital bed.

Crying, she heard the second baby crying. The doctors quickly rushed their child over to a nearby table. Isshin and she weren't even allowed to hold this one like they had been with their first. Murmurs were coming from the nurses. They sounded almost shocked. She felt her emotions give way as she began to cry. _Was something wrong with him? Was he dying? In pain? Why can't I see him?_ she thought as hot tears ran down her cheeks as panic slowly began to make its way into her emotions.

"Isshin..." she whispered to him as tears ran down her cheeks.

"It's going to be okay." he whispered in her ear.

The doctor then returned to her side and began coaching her in eliminating the afterbirth of the second twin. She was cleaned up and taken out of the room and brought to her own room where she and Isshin awaited news of their children. They didn't have to wait long as two bassinets were brought into the room. Both children were covered with powder blue blankets and had blue hats on their heads.

The first was given to Isshin who laughed lightly at the bright orange tuff on his head as he pulled the hat off. "He looks like an Ichigo." his voice was boisterous and woke the child in his arms instantly, who looked at him with annoyance before making use of his new lungs and began to cry very loudly. "I think he likes me!"

Masaki laughed nervously as she believed their son really did not like his father very well. "May I hold the other?" she asked the nurse who looked at her nervously.

"He's a bit different." the nurse explained. "He's very pale, but the doctor says he had a very strong heartbeat and all of the tests we have performed in the last hour say that everything is normal."

Masaki nodded in understanding. Very carefully the baby was placed in her arms. For the first time Masaki got a real good look at her second child. He had extremely pale white skin, blackened nails and blue lips. He looked as if he was death itself and it made her heart clutch in fear. His arms wiggled as he moved against her. "Why are his eyes covered?" she asked the nurse.

"The whites of his eyes are very dark." she stated with worry. "The doctor is being cautious and wants to keep those on for a while. He's worried that he may have sensitive eyes and that if his eyes are exposed to light right now that he may become blind." She then gently pulled the cap off of his head to reveal pure white fluff on the crown of his head. "All the nurses are either calling him Yuki or..."

"Shiro." Masaki said with warmth in her voice. "My little Shiro." She brought his head to her lips and kissed his tiny forehead before taking the hat from the nurse and placing it back upon his head.

 _Shiro._ The-hollow-that-wasn't-so-much-a-hollow-anymore thought to himself before a bemused half smile crossed his features. A coo came from the woman as she pointed out the smile to her mate. _That name will do woman_. Coincidentally the couple had named him exactly what his hollow name was without knowing. It would be interesting to see just who this couple was once the bandages were taken off of his eyes. He couldn't wait to cause them mayhem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: This story is gonna be a small project. I'm taking a totally different approach with it than I am with Two of A Kind. I am not sure how often it will be updated, but I swear I'm going to be posting more chapters to it. So, what does everyone think of the beginning to this story?


	2. Shiro

**Chapter 2** : _Shiro_

* * *

 

Big black/gold eyes watched through special goggle glasses intently as Masaki changed the diaper of the orange haired menace before placing said menace back into the play pen without any clothes on. It was a hot afternoon, both boys were over four months old and sitting up on their own; somewhat. Those small delicate feminine hands grasped Shiro by his underarms before lifting him up, placing him on the diaper changing table and began to undo the wet diaper.

The not-so-hollow child gave her a smirk and as she pulled the dirty diaper off, a spray of urine came her way. _Direct hit!_ he thought giggling as she cried out when the pee hit her directly in the face.

Isshin came into the room when he heard Masaki give out a surprised yell. "He likes doing that to you, doesn't he?" he stated as he watched her finish off cleaning her face. She gave him a slightly annoyed look before returning to cleaning Shiro up. The boy was now in a fit of giggles.

"Shiro, honey..." Masaki said sweetly. "Why must you do that?" Laughter was her only answer.

* * *

 

By afternoon, Shiro was bored. With his supposed mother busy cleaning and his annoying father working, he was left alone with Ichigo in the playpen. The orange haired boy was fast asleep on the pile of blue and green baby blankets. He was suppose to be napping, but he wasn't tired; never was. His dark eyes moved around the room, looking at the surrounding area. The woman wasn't around, which meant he could try to escape from the pen and do things that could annoy her or sit there like a good boy and wait for his brother to wake up. Then again, since when were hollows good guys?

Wiggling out of the blankets, untangling himself, Shiro crawled over to the edge of the playpen and tried climbing out, unfortunately, his little muscles weren't strong enough to pull his body up the netting of it. Growling in frustration, Shiro began to really hate this body of his. As a hollow he'd been so much stronger, with huge reiatsu, but now he was weaker than the weakest hollow. It wasn't right, nor was it fair.

Suddenly two strong hands picked him up from behind, startling slightly. Looking up through the mess of white hair, Shiro spotted Isshin. His eyes widening as the larger male took him out of the room. This was unusual,Isshin never did this. He was always left in there with Ichigo for a nap in the afternoon by Masaki and then brought back out by her. Isshin took him out of the shared bedroom, down the stairs, through the house towards the clinic that Shiro had only been to once before. They went into a back office where Isshin sat him down onto a fluffy blanket. Turning his head towards Isshin, Shiro was curious as to why he'd been brought here when he spotted a stranger behind Isshin.

"Isshin." the blond haired male tipped his stripped green and white bucket hat at Isshin as he walked into the room.

"Urahara." Isshin greeted the exile before looking down at his son. "Four months ago Masaki gave birth to twin boys, but our second born is a bit strange."

"Strange?" Urahara inquired as he bent down onto his knees to look at the infant. Taking in the odd goggles that were on the boy's face along with the pure snow white hair, Urahara stretched out his senses and came up short with what he was sensing from the boy. "The hollow." he stated this simply. "It seems the creature fused itself with your second child."

"No, he _is_ my second child." Isshin said sounding a bit disgusted as he gently pulled off the goggles and placed them on the desk before dimming the lights.

Bright golden eyes set against black background had Urahara's own eyes widening. "This can't be possible." he muttered as he reached out for the little one. Holding the infant close he inspected the child, as normal as it looked, the boy's energy said something different. "I can place a seal upon his power, but as he ages the seal will weaken. I estimate that it will break completely when he's a teen."

"Will he remember being a hollow?" Isshin asked, his tone worrying.

"It's possible he already does." Urahara said as he sat the little on the floor. "As he ages, those memories may leave him. I don't know for certain." He then took his hat off and waved it in front of Shiro, who gave him a look of _what's that for?_ "He certainly isn't like a normal infant. Sitting up completely unattended. I'm surprised he isn't talking, or cursing."

Shiro glared at the other man, not liking where this conversation was going. Getting onto his hands and knees he tried crawling away, but wasn't successful as Isshin picked him up once more. "Let's get this over with." he said handing his son to Urahara. "I may not see spirits any longer, but Masaki does and she says that she's been sensing a lot of them around here. If that's happening, it could be because of Shiro."

"Or his twin." Urahara countered, this surprised Isshin. "I sensed another power here and its similar to Shiro's. It's possible that by sharing a womb, the two boys also shared reiatsu. Shiro's power mimics his brother-"

"Ichigo." Isshin said filling in his firstborn sons name.

"-Ichigo's power or Ichigo could be mimicking Shiro's power." Urahara finished as Isshin sat Shiro on the desk. Calling forth his own power, Urahara began to chant out a sealing kido that would place several seals upon Shiro's power. A red and black mark appearing on Shiro's chest like a bullseye in the center of his chest before vanishing under the skin and embedding itself onto his soul.

Shiro felt suddenly very cold, before feeling like his mind was beginning to shutting down. Whimpers escaped his lips. _What did these people just do to me?_ That was when the water works began as he started to cry and cry and cry some more.

Picking him up, Isshin tried comforting him, but that only seemed to make it worse! "Isshin!" the yell from behind them caused both men to jump slightly. "What did you two do to Shiro!?" Masaki demanded before taking her son out of Isshin's hands.

"Nothing!" Isshin said as he continued to try calming his son down, only seeming to make things worse.

Masaki glared at him, not believing a word he was saying. Turning to walk out of the room with her son, she quickly snatched up his goggles and left. Taking him back to his room, Masaki laid Shiro down next to Ichigo. The little white haired boy continued to cry until his twin snuggled up against his chest. Once the twins were settle, Masaki left them to their nap, all the while worry eating at the back of her mind at what her husband and Urahara had done to make Shiro cry like that.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Thought I'd write up a chapter before going off to work. Hope everyone is enjoying their Independence Day weekend! ^_^


	3. Love Him

**Chapter 3** : _Love him_

* * *

The memories of his past life seemed to have vanished all together from his mind after that day in the clinic. However, that wasn't the only thing that seemed to change. Masaki was the one to take notice of how Isshin seemed to distance himself from Shiro. At first she didn't think much of it, but as the days and weeks blended into one another; she did begin to notice the small things. First, if Shiro and Ichigo were playing together and Shiro began to get rough in his play, Isshin would separate the boys, quite literally. Shiro would be placed in the play pen as Ichigo was allowed to continue playing on the floor. Next, Shiro's bed was moved into the second bedroom, leaving Ichigo alone in his own room; something he made quite clear that he did not like with all his crying. Lastly, Isshin would no longer play with Shiro, but opted in playing with Ichigo.

Having had enough of his behavior, Masaki was going to put a stop to it before the boys began to take notice, thankfully they were still too young to notice; for now. Walking into the clinic, she found Isshin doing some paper work. "Isshin," she began. "we need to talk."

Isshin turned around in his seat and looked up at his wonderful wife. "Yes?" he asked. "What is it love?" All the while he was wondering how he had gotten so lucky to have this woman as his wife.

"I've begun to notice something." she said as she began pacing back and forth, nervousness coming over her. "You've been avoiding our son for awhile now." She then saw him open his mouth to object. Holding her hand up, she continued. "I know you love Ichigo, you idolize him; but you avoid Shiro. You don't hold him or cuddle with him or play with him. You have placed him in the bedroom next to Ichigo's leaving both of our sons alone and without each other to comfort one another." Placing her hands on her hips she spoke with a command in her voice. "You _will_ put Shiro's bed back where it belongs." she said with her finger pointing at him. "You _will_ stop ignoring him and you **_will not_ ** separate him from his brother ever again. Do I make myself clear!?" By the end her voice had gotten loud, as if she was angry.

"Masaki-" Isshin began only to have that finger pointed in his face.

"I said, **do** I make myself **_clear_**?" she repeated.

Feeling like a misbehaved child, Isshin nodded numbly. "Yes." he answered, a bit of fear was in his features as she pulled her hand away.

"If you _ever_ return to treating him this way again, I will not go easy on you." she warned him.

"But that boy is a hollow!" he yelled at her, causing her eyes to widen in surprise. "He's the hollow that was sealed within you." he tried to explain. "I'm only trying to protect Ichigo."

"He may be." she finally answered. "But that boy is our son. His came from my body." She looked at him with sorrowful eyes. "If you find yourself unable to love him like Ichigo, I will take both boys and you will never see us again." she promised and by the look in her eyes, Isshin knew she was serious. "He is my little snowy Shiro. He may have been a hollow before, but now he is human. Love him. That's all I ask." Turning away, Masaki walked away from Isshin to leave him to think about what she'd just said to him.

* * *

That night Shiro found himself in Ichigo's bed. His older brother's arms were wrapped around him as he laid on his back. He didn't understand why they had been separated. His mind was blank about anything other than the normal baby things. He no longer could sit up without help, something seemed to confused his mother. Instead, he found he liked to do two things. Play and sleep. However, it seemed his father was always stopping him and separating him from his brother whenever they played. It was frustrating.

A sudden noise caused the infant to look towards the bedroom door through the wooden rails of the crib. There stood his father. Excitement filled his being. Cooing, he held his chubby arms up as the older man stood over the crib. Picking him up, Shiro grinned happily at his father, his smile splitting his face in half as his dark eyes shimmered with a joyful emotion.

"You can fool Masaki with your innocent antics," Isshin told the child. "but I'll be watching you." He warned the infant quietly. "I know the monster you are and will one day be." He watched Shiro grasp his palm with his tiny hands. "I won't let you hurt them. If I must, I will destroy you." With those words, Isshin placed the infant back into the crib, Ichigo's arms instantly seeking his brothers body out. Isshin watched as the two boys cuddled in their sleep. Hoping against hope that he wouldn't be forced to do what he'd just swore he'd do in order to protect his family.

* * *

At two years old, Ichigo was talking. Babble mostly. A bunch of jumbled up words that sometimes made no sense at all. Shiro, on the other hand, refused to speak; or so thought his parents. The truth was Shiro only spoke to Ichigo. Babble. That was all they spoke, but they seemed to understand what the other was saying, even if nobody else could.

Masaki came across their Babel talk one afternoon after cleaning and shopping. The boys were sitting on the floor of the kitchen in their training pants, shirts missing; as per usual. Ichigo babbled something to Shiro and a moment later Shiro handed him the blue truck next to him. A second later Shiro babbled something and Ichigo handed him the wooden kitty toy. Both boys seemed happy with their respective toys. When she made a noise, both turned their heads towards her; going silent instantly.

Shiro grinned up at her, as Ichigo stood up on tiny legs and walked/ran towards her. Ichigo's arms wrapping around her leg as he peered up at her and cried out. "Mama!"

"Were you and Shiro talking?" she asked him, gaining a shy grin as her answer before he nodded. "What we're you saying?"

"Shi wanted...uh...kitty." he answered honestly.

"And you wanted the car?" she asked as she took the toy from him and waved it in front of him. Ichigo nodded.

"Uh-huh." he answered as he began go sway his hips back and forth. " Potty." he suddenly told her, gaining an excited look from her as she led him to the upstairs bathroom, Shiro quickly following. Cheers were heard as Ichigo used the training potty for the first time.

"Uh-oh." Ichigo said causing Masaki to look towards Shiro who hadn't quite made it. The silver haired boy's training pants were soaked, tears threatening to fall as he thought he'd done something bad.

"Come here baby." Masaki said causing the oLd child to run into her arms. Quickly taking his pants off, Masaki began to clean his mess up before throwing away the training pants.

"Ma..ma..." Shiro spoke very quietly before burying his face against her shoulder.

"It's okay." she told him. "You'll learn." she kissed his white hair before taking his hand, standing and taking him into his room to find some new clothes to wear. Ichigo helping the entire time. It was unknown to her at that moment, but these days with her two boys would be numbered, as soon they'd be expanding their family and with it new troubles would arise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Had my first morning shift today and now I’m exhausted. I finished this up last night, but went to bed before I posted it.


	4. Odd Behavior

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I have a day off this week and I may write another chapter to this story.

**Chapter 4** : _Odd Behavior_

* * *

Shiro peered over the top of the couch down at a sleeping Masaki. Her belly was extended and had been growing larger and larger over the months. At almost four years old, he'd grown out of his terror faze; though Ichigo hadn't. He still was the silent one out of the two of them, something that his mother couldn't understand. He'd gone from being a terror to her to being a sweetie. Like Ichigo, he was a mama's boy. The news of becoming a big brother had flipped his world upside down. He'd always been the baby of the family, having been born second to Ichigo gave him certain rights and now he was going to loose them. A part of him was angry at this development, but another side told him that it wouldn't be that bad.

A tug on his pant leg caused him to look down. He was standing on Ichigo's shoulders looking over from the back of the couch. "What?" he asked too innocently. His black/golden eyes not betraying any sign of playfulness.

Ichigo didn't buy it. "Is she asleep?" he whispered.

Shiro climbed off of his brothers shoulders. "Yeah." he said as a half grin appeared on his face. "Let's go terrorize Goatface." Ichigo giggled at Shiro's nickname for their father. Shiro still could recall Isshin's faze of ignoring him, but then one day it had stopped and the raven haired man began to shower him with affection and love. It still unsettled him, but he took it in stride.

The two boys quickly made their way from the living room into the hall that led towards the clinic. This time Ichigo go onto Shiro's shoulders to look into the clinic. Upon seeing nobody in the next room, he turned the doorknob. Both boys fell forward, giggles threatened to escape their lips, but before that could happen they both slapped a hand over each other's mouths. They waited for a second before standing back up and running to the office where they knew their father would be.

When they arrived at the large room, the door was left wide open. Looking into the room from the edge of the doorway, they both spotted Isshin doing a mountain of paperwork, a week's worth that he was behind on. They both smiled upon realizing that he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. Moving quickly, they both took a side of the desk to hide by and waited to strike.

Isshin on the other hand was about to call it a day. Ever since he and Masaki had found out that she was pregnant with another set of twins, something she blamed him for, he'd been taking extra shifts at the hospital; which had brought more business to their small clinic. He now had three times as many patients and for some reason every last one had decided to come and see him in the last week. With Masaki no larger helping him out, Isshin had found himself backlogged with paperwork. Thankfully Masaki only had two more months before the babies were born, then only a month after that before she'd come back and help him.

Feeling sleep about to take over, Isshin yawned and leaned back into his chair. I could use a nap. he thought with a smile. _In the old days I'd do just that, but now..._ Sighing he was about to go back to work when suddenly from either side of him two boys jumped out and screamed at the top of their lungs.

"RAWR!" Both Ichigo and Shiro jumped out of their hiding places. Both boys began laughing at the look of terror on their father's face before both decided to jump onto his lap.

Terror wasn't the world Isshin was feeling at the moment. With a hand over his chest, his heart felt like it was going to pop out of his chest. With a lap full of giggling boys, Isshin just shook his head at them. "Boys," he began as he finally calmed his heart. "what are you doing in here. You know it's off limits during the day." He was trying to sound stern, really he was; but as the smiling faces looked up at him, he found himself failing in that.

"We're bored!" Ichigo said, "Mama is sleeping again." Shiro just nodded in agreement. "Shiro and I wanted ta have fun. You're always fun."

Isshin got the point. Because he was fun to be around the boys had sought him out. _Still..._ His eyes looked from the boys to the work he really needed to finish.

"P-Play?" Shiro stuttered as he spoke. It was a habit he'd begun to do in front of Isshin, along with peeing his pants if Isshin scared him too badly.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at his brother. He really didn't understand why Shiro would get all scared whenever they were near the father. It made absolutely no sense to the other boy.

Isshin gave a sigh as he gave in to the twins whims. "Alright." he told them. "Go get your coats. We'll go to the park and have fun."

"Yay!" came the twin yells before they hopped off of his lap and ran off to obey him.

Looking at the paperwork he chuckled. _Oh well._ he thought as he stood and began to follow his children. _Tomorrow is another day._

* * *

In order for Shiro to go to the park, he had the wear dark glasses that blocked the sunlight. They were strapped onto his head like his goggles had been when he'd been a baby. This was in order for him not to worry about them falling off of his face. He really hated the glasses. He never understood why he had to wear them. His eyes weren't sun sensitive like the doctors had originally thought. What most people, except for Ichigo, didn't know, was that he could see at night like he could during the day. Ichigo thought it was a cool ability, Shiro didn't.

Running around like a couple of idiots, the two boys practically tired themselves out in thirty minutes. Shiro was ready to go back home within that time frame. Isshin picked him up and put him on his shoulders. Ichigo, however, wasn't ready and began to act out. No matter how many times Isshin yelled his name, Ichigo ignored him. Having enough, Isshin grabbed the little boy off of the jungle gym. This earned a lot of screams from the orange haired boy before suddenly he stopped moving.

Isshin figured Ichigo had tired himself out or something and continued to walk home with Shiro on his shoulders. The white haired little boy looked down at his twin as he was carried in Isshin's arm like a limp sack of noodles. Ichigo looked up at Shiro and suddenly Shiro felt a bit scared at the dark look in Ichigo's eyes. Just as the arrived at their home, Isshin was about to put Ichigo down in order to open the gate when Ichigo suddenly bit Isshin's hand causing the older man to drop him. Ichigo hissed at his father as he reached towards the boy before running towards the house and leaving Isshin in shock at what he'd just done.

"Brother scary when mad." Shiro commented from above.

Isshin looked up at the silver haired boy. Ichigo's behavior was not typical for human children, instead it reminded him of a hollow. What the hell is going on? he wondered as he walked into the house only find Masaki looking upset at him with a very innocent looking Ichigo clinging to his leg. Oh dear. What'd the boy tell her? he thought before he was yelled at for having carried Ichigo the way he had only to drop him.

It was odd, but for once Shiro didn't enjoy watching his mother give Isshin a tongue lashing, instead he went upstairs to sleep and ponder on why Ichigo had bitten their father. In his dreams Shiro found himself under a crescent moon, black night sky and white desert with a large white marble building in the distance. This was in front of him. Behind him, he saw a city with skyscrapers going in all directions. He seemed to be in the center of these two places. It was weird, but familiar at the same time. Then he saw two beings who seemed to be sleeping. He couldn't quite make them out, but something told him they were important. He just didn't know how or why. That's when the dream came to an end and he found himself once again in his shared bedroom with Ichigo.

 


	5. Not Normal

**Chapter 5** : _Not Normal_

* * *

Ichigo looked between his father and the stripe-bucket hat wearing man to his brother who was hiding behind one of the candy isles, all the while peering out at the strange man who was talking to their father. As soon as they had arrived at the candy store, Shiro had stiffened up once he'd spotted the strange man. Urahara. That was the name is father introduce him as. It was obvious that Shiro was scared of the man. Why? Now that was the question. Ichigo had never met the man before, so that automatically meant that Shiro hadn't either, right?

"Ichigo." Isshin called his eldest son over to his side.

The orange haired child ran over to his father's side instantly, with a sucker held out. "Please?" he asked his father. Ichigo had learned that Isshin was a sucker for manners and when he used them he almost always got what he wanted.

"Sure." Isshin agreed as he took the piece of candy and sat it on the counter.

"Shiro too?" Ichigo asked. His brother really liked sweets. Ichigo liked them, but only up to a certain point.

"Of course." Isshin stated before he picked Ichigo up and sat him on the counter as well. "Ichigo I want you to sit still. Okay?" he asked in his serious tone. The little boy nodded as he watched the storekeeper walk around to the front of the counter to stand in front of Ichigo. Ichigo looked into the strange man's shadowed eyes and felt a sudden shiver go down his spine. A thought coming to him. That this man was more than he seemed. At that moment, Ichigo didn't know how right he was with that thought.

It was then that Ichigo saw the man's hands glow a light green color. He touched Ichigo's chest with one hand before touching the top of his head with the other. After several seconds, he suddenly felt a tug on his pant leg. Looking down, Urahara saw Shiro looking up at him with a worried look in place. He hadn't even heard the boy move let alone feel his energy get closer until now.

"Don't hurt my brother." Shiro said, his voice sounding very scared and by the slight tremor in the boys hands, Urahara could tell he was very scared of him.

Opening his mouth to speak, Urahara was beat to the punch by Isshin. "He's not hurting Ichigo." Isshin assured his youngest. "He's helping him."

Urahara removed his hands from Ichigo. "Actually, there's nothing to help with." Urahara bent down and picked Shiro up. The white haired boy went stiff immediately. Sitting him next to Ichigo, he first handed Ichigo the sucker he'd picked out earlier before reaching in his pocket of his haori and pulled out another sucker.

"But I swear he-" Isshin began only to be stopped by a look in Urahara's eyes.

"I have no doubt that Ichigo bit you and may have shown some _odd_ behavior afterwards." Kisuke stood back and watched the two boys interact. Ichigo trading his sucker for his brothers. Shiro checking Ichigo out to make sure he really wasn't hurt. It was interesting to watch the hollow-child interact with his twin. "I believe Ichigo may have been influenced by Shiro within the womb. As the two had grown within Masaki, they shared reiatsu. As I examined Ichigo, I felt some residual hollow reiatsu inside of him." he said as he walked towards the backroom door. "It's not harming him." he added before leaving the room.

Isshin looked at his two boys, Ichigo was whispering something into Shiro's ear before both boy's began laughing. "Then there isn't anything to worry about?" he asked, his voice loud enough to be heard by the former captain, turned exile.

"Now I did not say that." Kisuke came back into the room with a necklace that held a single red gem on it. Placing it around Ichigo's neck he watched the gem turn colors before settling on a brilliant blue color. "Incredible." he mumbled with awe in his voice. "It would seem Ichigo here is very special indeed." He messed the boys soft hair up, causing Ichigo to look at him with annoyance. Ichigo pulled the necklace off as Kisuke continued. "Not only has the hollow reiatsu fuzed with him, but the Quincy and shinigami powers within him have fuzed in perfect harmony. In other words, Ichigo is a very unique hybrid. I am almost certain that when his powers _do_ begin to manifest, that they'll do so quickly." He looked at Isshin very seriously. "You need to ensure to train him before this happens, otherwise, when they do appear he'll have no idea of how to protect himself."

He went to continue when from his peripheral vision he saw Ichigo put the necklace around Shiro's neck. Instead of a brilliant blue color, a pure white color appeared. "Goatface, Shiro's glows too!" Ichigo exclaimed.

 _Oh this isn't good_. Kisuke thought as he realized what this meant. Not only were Shiro's powers beginning to slowly return, but when they fully manifested the boy was going to be so _very_ powerful. _Possibly too powerful._

"What does that color mean?" Isshin demanded, the tone he had almost sounded like a command.

"Calm down." Kisuke told him as he popped a chocolate candy into his own mouth. "It only means that Shiro's sleeping reiatsu will be powerful once it reawakens." Isshin frown at this. "It's nothing to worry about. I know people who can be called in if it gets out of hand.

Isshin's eyes widened as he realized who he meant. "You mean _**they're**_ still alive?!" He sounded both shock and impressed that, that was even possible.

Kisuke smirked as he waved his paper fan in front of his face. "Did you ever doubt?" Then looking a bit more serious he continued. "The best thing you could do for either of these boys is train them together. Ensure they get strong, together. The more focused they are on protecting each other, the better."

* * *

A week later the twins found themselves enrolled into a karate class at the local community center. While there they met Tatsuki, a girl who not only could promise pain, but dish it out too. Ichigo instantly liked her, Shiro was unsure but went along with it as Ichigo seemed happy. They always got beat up there though and while the bruises would fade the lessons they learned there would last throughout their lives.

It was during one of their lessons at karate that Isshin, instead of Masaki, picked the twins up. They had to leave early due to their mom being taken to the hospital. She was two weeks early in her labor and though Isshin tried to hide it from the boys, he was worried for her. Over the last week, Masaki had been getting weak and slept longer than usual. She had also been eating less. These were worrying signs and the doctor in him was trying to figure out what was wrong with her without worrying her. As they arrived at the hospital, Isshin took the two boys to the daycare center there and then disappeared to find his beloved wife.

Once alone Ichigo looked at Shiro. "Do you think Mama is okay?" he asked.

Shiro grinned. "She's fine." he stated with confidence. "Goatface said so."

"But he looked worried." Ichigo pointed out.

Shiro looked towards the lady that was watching them, her attention was on a pair of cute blonde girls in pink dresses. "If we sneak out now, we could find her before Goatface does and make sure she's okay." he said with a wide grin.

"Sure." Ichigo grinned back mischief entering his eyes as he waited for Shiro to make the first move. Without hesitation the white haired boy moved quickly, with his orange haired counterpart following. Once the daycare door was opened, without any problems on their behalf, they took off down the hall towards the elevator. This is when the two boys had an adventure that would lead them to getting into trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Woohoo! I got another chapter out! ^_^ Okay, so I may have finished this on Thursday, but I tried posting it then and it wouldn’t post. Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter.


	6. Hospital Adventure

**Chapter 6** : _Hospital Adventure_

* * *

Leaving the first floor of the hospital, the boys entered an elevator and began pressing all of the buttons. They decided that would be the most effective way to get the thing to move. When the doors opened to the next floor, Ichigo ran out first only for the doors to close on Shiro. Both thought the same thing at the same moment as the doors closed. Uh-oh.

Deciding not to panic, Ichigo began exploring the floor he was on. He found that the rooms were full of old and sick people. No rooms were full of babies or pregnant moms, or even his mom. Wondering around, Ichigo found an empty room and entered the room. Inside wasn't as empty as he thought. He found a man and woman on a bed naked, and in his mind that meant they were making a baby. Making a face of disgust, he quickly vacated the room and ran down the halls to another elevator and waited for it to open up for him.

* * *

As Ichigo was exploring the second floor, Shiro had finally calmed himself down in order to figure out what he was going to do. I'll find Mama. he decided with a nod to himself. She'll know what to do. When the doors opened to the third floor, Shiro found the walls decorated with balloons and pictures of clowns. He hated clowns! Stepping out, Shiro peered around the corner of the ward and found the halls slightly empty, except for a little girl in a wheelchair. Hoping to pass her by without being noticed, Shiro stepped around the chair only for his arm to be touched by the lightest of touches. Turning his head, he looked at the girl who was smiling up at him.

"Sorry, I thought you were my brother." she said still grinning up at him.

Shiro pushed his sunglasses up his nose. "Do I look like him?" he asked.

The girl looked him over before giggling. "Nu-uh." she answered. "You've got white hair like an old man."

Shiro growled in annoyance. Like he hadn't heard that one before. The four year old boy went turn away from her when she grabbed his arms once again. "What's your name?" she asked curiously.

Without thinking, he answered. "Shiro Kurosaki."

"I'm Inoue Orihime." she said cheerfully.

Looking her over, Shiro noticed the cast on her leg. Even though she was hurt, she was smiling. He also noticed that her orange/red hair on her head matched the gown she was wearing making it look like it had been done on purpose."Why are you happy?" he asked. "You're hurt."

"Because..." she began as she poked her forefingers together. "Because I got to meet you today."

A pink flush crossed Shiro's features. Turning away from her quickly out of embarrassment, Shiro yelled over his shoulder as he took off. "Well I've gotta find my Mama!" As he ran down the hall, Shiro could still feel the heat on his face from the girl's words. Going passed a nurses station, Shiro found another set of elevators. As the doors closed he decided that girls were weird and these funny feeling were the result of being around their weirdness.

* * *

Indigo turned around as the doors to the elevator opened up to a busy room. His eyes widening as he saw nurses and doctors rushing around. Deciding there was no way his Mama would be on this floor, he quickly pressed a button; unfortunately that was when a bed with a patient was pushed onto the elevator. A nurse was helping a man breathe as the doctor was talking to another nurse who pressed a needle into the man's arm.

Ichigo hoped nobody would notice him as they were busy with the man. He got his wish too as the group quickly exited the elevator with the man on another floor, which Ichigo decided to explore. This floor was bit quieter than the others he'd been on. Walking quietly through the halls he pressed a door open and saw seats in this room. Walking inside he saw a big window looking down upon a group of people. Looking down upon the scene, Ichigo found himself transfixed upon what the doctors were doing.

A man was on a table with his belly cut open. Doctors had their hands inside of the opened cavity as they spoke to the others in the room. The man had been shot, from what Ichigo could overhear from the comm system in the room he was in. They, the doctors below, knew where the bullet was, but were having problems getting to it because of a bleeder. Suddenly Ichigo felt another's presence. Turning he saw the ghostly figure of the man below. The doctors began yelling.

"Ah, it seems my time has finally passed." the man stated. "You seemed transfixed by my operation."

"My Daddy is a doctor too." he replied to the man.

The man's eyes widened before he chuckled. "I see." he said softly. "Was he one of them who were trying to save me?"

Ichigo shook his head. "No. My Mama is here having a baby, but my brother Shiro and I got lost." he explained. "Now I can't find Shiro!" he wailed at the spirit, tears forming in his eyes.

"Hmm..." the spirit said as he looked around. "Then I'll help you before I pass on." he said with a slight smile causing Ichigo to stop crying.

"Really?" he asked the spirit who have a nod. "Thank-you." The Two turned towards the door, as they left the operation room observation room, he asked the spirit. "How did you get shot?"

"It's irrelevant." the spirit answered as they turned towards the stairwell to leave the floor.

* * *

At that moment Shiro was currently being chased by a large nurse who had deemed him to be an escaped patient from the children's floor. Sliding across the floor on his feet, Shiro quickly made for a fast escape and opened a door into a stairwell. Upon doing so he found three orderly's smoking cigarettes in the stairwell. The three men looked at the pale skinned albino boy with shock as he ran between their legs as they tried to grab him up. At first Shiro had thought this was annoying, being chased that is; however, now he saw it a game. The longer he could keep away from the adults, the better he was at being avoided.

Running down the steps, which was a feat for a four year old, Shiro came to landing where he saw Ichigo and an old man. "Ichi!" he yelled as he came to a stop.

Ichigo looked up the stairs to see the nurse and orderly's panting. "Stop!" one yelled. "Kid!"

Ichigo grinned at his brother. "Having fun?" he asked Shiro who grinned back at him as he pulled off his sunglasses revealing that his black/gold eyes were sparkling with mischief.

"Yes!" he yelled as he answered Ichigo excitedly. "Who's he?" he asked pointing at the old man.

"He's a spirit." Ichigo answered. "I think."

Shoot heard the group coming their way. Grabbing Ichigo's hand, the two boys ran from the pursuers down the stairs and onto another floor. As they opened the door, they bumped into a man's leg. The man grabbed both boys by the arms. "Who are you two?" he asked in a demanding voice before his eyes widened as he caught sight of Shiro's eyes. "What the-"

"Ichigo! Shiro!" came the all too familiar voice of their father.

The man grasping them looked up. "I should have known these rambunctious children belonged to you, Kurosaki." he said as he released Ichigo's arm to push his glasses up his nose.

"Ryuken!" Isshin yelled out with cheer.

"Let go of my brother!" Ichigo yelled at the white haired man before kicking his leg.

Isshin felt sweat drop down his neck as Ryuken suddenly looked ready to murder his son. Laughing nervously, he grabbed Ichigo up. "You know how boys can be." he said before holding his hand out to Shiro."

"This boy," Ryuken said, "he's not normal." He released Shiro who ran over to Isshin, grasping his father's hand as he did so.

"I know." Isshin answered. "But we love him, even with his differences."

Ryuken stayed silent as he watched Isshin leave him behind. _Yet it might be those differences that create the monster he will inevitably become_. he thought as Isshin and the two boy's vanished into a room. _Are you ready for the day you may have to destroy him?_ He began walking away. _I wonder if you'll be able to do it? That is a day I'll be waiting for, because if you fail..._ He raised his arm, the charm with the quincy cross hanging from it could be seen. _I'll be ready to finish it._ Looking towards the open stairwell door, Ryuken saw three dumbfounded employees. "Get back to work." He ordered them. The chorus of _yes sir_ was like music to his ears.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: At least they didn’t get into too much trouble.


	7. Big Brothers

**Chapter 7** : _Big Brothers_

* * *

 

Shiro stared in amazement at the two little girls that were laying in his mother's arms. One black haired baby girl and one blonde haired baby girl. Pushing his glasses up onto his head, he moved closer to get a better look; like Ichigo. The black haired girl looked like their father, but was cute. "Shiro, what do you think of your sisters?" Masaki asked him.

Looking up at her, his black/gold eyes noticed how tired she looked. "Cute." he said as he pointed at the dark haired baby. He looked at the baby in her arms and flushed. "Cuter."

Ichigo nodded in agreement. "Karin's cute."

"Karin?" Masaki asked incredulously.

"Yuzu!" Shiro said pointing at the other.

Both parents sweat-dropped at their sons. It would seem they wouldn't have to worry about names for these two. "Well," Isshin said with a light laugh. "I guess we have names for them now."

Masaki chuckled as she agreed. She watched as her boys seemed raptured by their new siblings, especially Shiro. His wide eyes watched as the newborns moved in her and Isshin's arms. Every sound and movement was caught by his watchful gaze. Ichigo, on the other hand, couldn't seem to understand why the newborns weren't laughing at his silly faces. Looking up at her husband, who was watching the boys like a hawk, she couldn't help but feel immense love for her family. Never in her wildest dreams as a young teenager had she dreamt of having a family like the one she'd been gifted with. She only prayed that things continued as they were and that their happiness wouldn't be torn from them.

* * *

 

It took three days for Masaki and the twins to come home. Though it was a short time, to two four year old boys, it was like a month of being separated from their mother. Their neighbor, an old lady that smelled like mothballs, watched over them as Isshin left to bring Masaki and the girls home.

Ichigo looked at the playroom next to their room. Over the last several months it had been transformed into a baby room. Pink walls and floors along with cribs, changing tables, toys and blankets. Shiro paused by the door entrance and looked inside with his brother. "Goatface says that we're big brothers now." Ichigo told him. "I'm not sure..."

"...how to do it?" Shiro asked. Ichigo nodded. "Same here." Shiro was glad he wasn't the only one feeling unsure about being a big brother. What was he suppose to do? He couldn't play with the babies, they were too small and fragile looking right now. "Did he say what to do?" he asked Ichigo, who shook his head no.

"Boys, lunch is ready!" their neighbors voice called for them. Running down the stairs, the two boys came to a stop in front of the old lady who smiled warmly at them as they sat at the table.

"I can't eat." Ichigo announced to her. "I'm still thinking."

"Well think while you eat." the woman answered.

"Goatface says we're big brothers." Ichigo told her.

"Yes, I know." she said with a warmness to her voice as she chuckled at the nickname the boys warmly called their father.

"But how do we..." Ichigo began as he took a bite out of the sandwich she offered him.

"...be big brothers?" Shiro finished as he was given a sandwich as well.

"I see." the woman smiled as she though of her own older brother who was no longer alive. "You protect your sisters from things or people who can harm them." She told the boys. "You play with them. Make sure they're happy and teach them things you think they should know."

"But-" Shiro began only to be interrupted by Ichigo.

"They're babies!" He told her an exasperated look crossing his features.

The older woman chuckled at their dilemma. To think such things, as mundane as this seemed, were like a life or death situation for these boys. "They won't always be babies." She said with a wide grin. "I'm sure you'll both figure it out as you go."

Both boys gave a sad sigh at not being able to get a true answer from their neighbor lady. "Kids!" Masaki's voice echoed.

Almost instantly, their troubles from before seemed to vanish as both Ichigo and Shiro went to greet their family. "We're home!" Isshin's voice echoed right after their mother's. Coming down the hall, the two saw the twins and zoomed in on them. Ichigo bending down to peer at Yuzu as Shiro went on his hands a knees to look at Karin. Both girls were in their carriers and were fast asleep. The boys heard their parents talking, but ignored them as they were now interested in their new sisters.

Suddenly Shiro smelt something and grabbed his nose. At that moment Karin woke up and began to cry. "Mama, she stinks!" he cried out causing Masaki to giggle.

"Do you want to help me?" She asked the two boys who gave her nods as their answers.

Walking up the stairs to their sisters rooms, they watched their mother undress and take the white diaper off of Karin. "Ew!" Shiro cried out upon seeing the dirty diaper.

"Yuck!" Ichigo cried out. Both boys covered their noses with their hands to try and block the smell.

"They don't smell that bad." Isshin states as he brought Yuzu into the room for her own changing.

"You two were much worse." Masaki told them.

Ichigo and Shiro looked at each other, made a face and ran off to get away from the smells. "Chickens!" Isshin yelled after them as Masaki laughed at him. "What?"

"I remember when you changed Shiro's diaper the first time." she laughed as she finished Karin's diaper. "I almost thought that you'd go off to find a hazmat suit to change it."

"Ugh! Now his diapers were just toxic." he groaned at the memory as he wiped Yuzu's butt and began to put a new diaper on. Masaki's laugh caused him to look at the doorway where Ichigo and Shiro were now wearing surgical masks and gloves.

"We can help now." Ichigo announced.

Masaki bent down and removed the masks as she cradled Karin with one arm. "Let's leave these in here for next time. Alright?" She asked them gaining nods from both boys.

* * *

 

Shiro watched as both of his sisters played on their blanket that was stretched out on the ground. They were at the park, Ichigo and him were taking turns in watching over their sisters. Their father was making faces at the now month old girls, who giggled at just about anything the idiot did. A sound of a camera shutter closing caught Shiro's attention. Looking up he saw his mother taking pictures of the first outing for the twin girls.

Standing Shiro ran over to her and reach up towards her. "Yes Shiro?" she said as she bent down to his level.

"I wanna..." he began as he point at the camera. "take pictures with you Mama."

Masaki's eyes softened a bit before she began to explain how to use the small camera. Once she was certain that he could handle it, she went over to the blanket and picked up the twin girls. Ichigo ran over to his brother's side as Shiro took a picture of their mother with the girls, Goatface smiling the whole time. The next image Ichigo took after watching Shiro take a picture, the white haired boy running to join them and get his picture. Last came Isshin taking a picture as Ichigo joined them in the picture. Afterwards the two boys drug their father into a game of chase, which turned into roughhousing where the boys tried to take him down. By the end of the day, everyone was so exhausted.

That night as Shiro slept with Ichigo at his side, a nightmare came to him; one of many to come. This nightmare would leave many questions for the young boy and nobody to ask those questions to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Yay, I got another chapter out. Hope everyone enjoyed this. ^_^


	8. The Nightmare

**Chapter 8** : _The Nightmare_

* * *

Shiro woke to find himself floating in water. Black fingernails on the tips of his fingers. His body was much larger than it had been before. His hair was very long and floated around him in the water. He reached his hand up to his face, but did not feel the soft smooth outline of his skin, but instead it felt like he had a mask on. His hands went even higher upon his head and found two curved horns upon his head pointing in the forward position.

 _I'm a monster!_ was his first thought as he came fully awake.

Shiro turned his head one way and then another before he looked down at his hands once more. Lifting his hand to his chest, Shiro tried to calm himself down. Surely his mother and father would find him. Right? Ichi definitely would find him. Ichi would never leave him, even if he did look like a monster. Suddenly he saw three figures walk up to the glass cage that held him in the water. Their voices echoed, but something about these men was off. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew he should be angry at them. He slammed his fist against the glass wall causing the white haired male to look at him, his slanted eyes opening slightly to reveal icy blue eyes.

"Violent, isn't he?" the fox man stated, for his eyes reminded Shiro of a fox for some reason.

"Will we be able to control it?" the dark skinned man asked.

 _Control me?_ Shiro wondered. _Why would they want to control me? Who are these men?_ A frightening thought crossed his mind as an icy feeling ran down his back. _Did they kidnap me?_ Fear filled Shiro as the brown haired male looked at him. The charismatic the man had seemed to hold a dark secret to it. Shiro did not like this man. He was dangerous!

"We shall release him in the jureichi and see what happens from there." the man stated.

Shiro suddenly screamed as his body was electrocuted, the electric current was amplified by the water, making it so much worse. When he came to again, Shiro found himself in an alleyway. Jumping into the air the white hair boy, turned monster, ran.

The next scene of events that took place were in a blur. He saw his father, his mother even. Both looked at him with such hate. Seeing that from his father wasn't all too unfamiliar, but the look startled him from his mother. Both attacked him and before he could say anything he felt his world melt away.

* * *

Waking Shiro screamed as the dream was still fresh in his mind. Ichigo woke instantly and tried comforting his twin, only to have Shiro wrap his arms tightly around him while crying hysterically. The door to their room opened, startling Shiro who lifted his dark eyes up to find his mother approaching him. The dream her came to the forefront of his mind and as she wrapped her arms around him to comfort him, Shiro screamed.

"NO!" he screamed over and over as he wiggled to get away from her. She was going to hurt him. She was gonna-

Suddenly Ichigo pulled him back into his arms. "It's okay Shiro." he said as he began rocking back and forth with his brother in his arms continuing to cry as the dream refused to leave the little boy.

"NO!" Shiro continued to scream.

Isshin came into the rooms moment later. "The girls are awake." he said to Masaki tiredly as more cries filled the household.

"He won't let me comfort him." she told him with a worried look.

Isshin sighed as he looked down at the white haired boy. "I'll take care of him, while you take care of the girls." he Tod her with a reassuring look.

Masaki gave a nod, before giving Shiro one more worried look. "Alright." she said as her shoulders dropped in defeat.

Isshin got onto his knees as he leaned over the bed the boy's shared. "Hey kiddo," he said softly as he petted Shiro's head. "It's going to be alright. It was just a bad dream." He began rubbing Shiro's back as the boy continued to cry into Ichigo's chest. It was then that Isshin noticed how cold his son was. Even through the light pajama top, Isshin could feel the coolness of his skin. _He's freezing_. he thought with worry. "Ichigo, I'll be right back. Keep doing what you're doing."

"Okay Pop." Ichigo agreed with a nod. With both of their parents gone, Ichigo continued the rocking motion and hugged his brother tightly to his body. He hadn't wanted to say anything to embarrass Shiro, but their bed was wet now. Neither boy had wet the bed in a very long time. "It's gonna be okay Shiro." He tried to reassure his brother, but was unsure if it was having any effect.

Isshin came back a few moments later and extracted Shiro from Ichigo, which seemed to be a very bad idea as the little boy screamed as if he was being hurt by his father. Ichigo got out of bed and followed them into the bathroom. Isshin sat Shiro on the edge of the bathtub, which had been filled with warm water. Ichigo got an idea and began taking his clothes off as Isshin finished doing the same for Shiro. As soon as Shiro was placed into the water, Ichigo got into it too and pulled his brothers back against his chest.

"Your brother is in shock Ichigo." Isshin told his eldest son. "You need to warm him up."

Ichigo nodded, not really understanding what shock was. "The bed is wet Pop." he told his father who gave a sigh.

"Alright." he said as he stood up. "Don't let him fall asleep." Ichigo gave a nod as Isshin left the room for a moment.

Rubbing Shiro's slowly warming body, Ichigo stated quiet as he listened to his brother's quiet mumbles. He kept saying the word no over and over. Ichigo lifted Shiro's chin to force his brother to look into his eyes. "I don't know what you dreamt of, but I'm here Shiro."

Shiro blinked at him, but went silent afterwards. He clung to Ichigo like a lifeline, because at that moment in his mind Ichigo was his only link to reality.

Masaki came in with Isshin a few moments later with warm towels. Both parents began to dry off their sons, Shiro staying quiet the whole time. Not even a whimper as Masaki dried his body off, even though the memory of her killing him was still there. Both boys were placed in clean night clothes and fresh sheets. Neither Masaki or Isshin left the two alone for the rest of the night, opting stay close just in case Shiro needed them.

* * *

Morning came early for the Kurosaki family as the twin girl's made their needs known quite loudly. Shiro tugged out of bed by Ichigo, who helped him dress for the day. Shiro wasn't feeling all too happy this morning, as the dream was still at the forefront of his mind. For breakfast Ichigo got the cereal out and though he made a mess, he made them breakfast. The two boys sat in front of the television and watched cartoons. As Ichigo finished his breakfast, he saw that Shiro had barely touched his bowl.

"Aren't you hungry?" he asked his brother.

The white haired boy shook his head. "No." he stated sadly as tears began falling from his dark eyes. "Ichi?" he began as a questioned formed on his lips. "Am I a monster?"

Ichigo blinked in surprise. "No." he answered honestly as Shiro sniffed and wiped his eyes. "Who called you that?" he asked getting upset that someone had told his brother that.

"Nobody." Shiro answered as he laid his head on his arms that were on the coffee table.

Ichigo frowned at the sad look in his brother's black/gold eyes. "You're not a monster." he restated. "And even if you were, you're my brother." Shiro raised an eyebrow at that. "Being my brother means that if you're a monster, so am I." Ichigo grinned at him. "So if you turn out to be one, we'll be monsters together."

Shiro suddenly threw himself at Ichigo and began to cry. Peering at the scene, Masaki held a hand over her mouth to stop herself from interrupting the boy's moment. Upon hearing what they were talking about though, Masaki began to cry, tears forming and falling from her eyes. When Isshin arrived at her side, she turned towards him and hugged her husband as she cried softly against his chest, thus leaving Isshin a bit confused.

* * *

A week after the first nightmare, the second one came. It was even more violent than the first. Showing Shiro himself attacking and killing a man. Blood on his hands. Next a battle between himself and his father. His father had a huge sword, but that sword seemed like nothing against the red energy beam he had used and fired from between his horns. In the end he was once again killed by his mother the same moment he had attacked her.

He woke up screaming once again and once more Ichigo was the only one able to comfort him. Isshin again made a warm tub full of water and as the two boys soaked in it, he changed the sheets on their bed; as Shiro had wet it once more.

During the next month the dreams got increasingly worse and with them came Shiro falling into a depression. He would go silent for days at a time and look so sad. During this time Ichigo never left his side and had taken to holding his hand on most days to ensure Shiro was never left behind. The only thing keeping Shiro stable was Ichigo. The white haired boy felt at a loss at what to do. He couldn't tell his brother that he was dreaming of dying or that it was their parents who were killing him I. his dreams and the dreams kept coming, that is until one day they stopped. However, with the dreams coming to a stop was Shiro no longer talking. He wouldn't ever speak again until he the day he met a true monster years later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I know this chapter was a bit sad, not to worry though, the next one won't be. It'll have some action in it and yes, Grand Fisher is about to show up. As for whether or not Masaki lives, well you will have to wait and see. ^_^


	9. Monsters Are Real

**Chapter** **9** : _Monsters_ _Are_ _Real_

* * *

 

 **Instinct**. _An innate, typically fixed pattern of behavior in animals in response to certain stimuli._

 

Nine year old Shiro looked at the definition again and again. His instincts were telling him not go outside today. It was raining, he hated the rain. He hated getting wet. He hated the mud that would get on his boots and clothes. He hated that he’d get pushed into mud puddles by the other kids. He hated that Ichigo would end up fighting them for him. He hated that his brother would always end up with bruises because of these fights.

 

“Shiro! Time for school.” his mother’s voice echoed up the stairs into his and Ichigo’s room. He tugged at his school uniform. His dark eyes looked at the falling rain once more. He really hated today.

 

* * *

 

 

Ichigo grinned at his brother as they sat in their desks next to one another in the back row. The teachers had placed Shiro in the back of the because he was a supposed distraction. Ichigo then punched the kid in the back seat next to Shiro after the kid had called Shiro a demon. The next day Ichigo was placed next to Shiro. Today they were having a pop quiz. Most of the kids groaned, but the twins loved quizzes. If one knew the answer but the other didn’t, they’d use their code system to give each other the answers. They were sneaky like that and the teachers had yet to pick up on what they were doing.

 

Ichigo looked over the paper and grinned as he realized he knew everything but a few answers. Shiro on the other hand glared at the piece of paper as he only knew a few of the answers. Shiro sneezed once, Ichigo tapped out the answer with his pencil in code. Shiro wrote down his answer. When Ichigo came to his problems he tapped the eraser end of his pencil on the desk. Shiro tapped his fingers on his desk. The back of the paper was an essay question that both could fill out without a problem. Finishing at the same time, the boys were left with five minutes before class let out.

 

After classes were finished Ichigo glanced up to see Tastuki walking up to them with a glare. “What?” he asked innocently.

 

“I don’t know how, but you two are cheating on tests.” she accused him.

 

Shiro turned his golden eyes towards her. “Prove it.” Ichigo dared her knowing exactly what Shiro wanted to say without saying it.

 

Her cheeks flushed at him. “If we weren’t in school...” she began as a threat was making its way out only for her to stop. “Are you two coming to the dojo today?”

 

Both twins grinned.

 

* * *

 

 

Shiro ended up on his back on the dojo mats. He’d just been tossed over Tatsuki’s shoulder and thrown on his back. He hated fighting against girls. Girls were meant to be protected. That’s what Goatface had always taught him and Ichigo. Girls were meant to be protected and cared for. You were to never ever punch a girl, only bastards did that. He’d love to tell Tatsuki that, but he didn’t want to get punched in his face, that and he had yet to speak since he was four.

 

Ichigo suddenly was on his stomach next to him as Tatsuki had taken him down as well. The two boys groaned in pain as they sat up. Tatsuki was grinning ear to ear at the two of them. Both were now wondering why they even were here today. Lightning suddenly struck causing all the other students in the dojo to gasp in surprise. After that the teacher dismissed the class.

 

* * *

 

 

“Ichigo, you’re getting all wet!” Masaki yelled at the orange haired boy whose hair was getting soaked by the rain.

 

Shiro was hiding under his yellow umbrella. He also wore a matching raincoat and boots. He hated the rain. As Masaki bent down to put Ichigo’s hat on Shiro held the second umbrella for her. “Thank-you Shiro honey.” she told him as she took her umbrella back from him. “Ichigo honey, please walk on this side.”

 

“But Mama, if I do that I can’t protect you properly.” Ichigo told her. “If I walk on this side, I can.”

 

“Oh Ichigo.” Masaki chuckled lightly.

 

Ichigo’s eyes suddenly turned towards the river. “What’s that girl doing?” he asked her.

 

Masaki turned to see who Ichigo was talking about only to see nothing there. “What girl?” she asked.

 

Shiro turned his head to look at where Ichigo was seeing the little girl at. He didn’t just see the girl, but he saw a hook that was against the girl’s neck. Frowning, Shiro realized that something was going on and he felt as if something was wrong with this picture. His fingers tingled with heat as he continued to look at the girl by the river. He saw Ichigo move out of the corner of his eye and grabbed his brother’s wrist. Before Ichigo could saw anything Shiro did something he hadn’t done in years, he spoke one word. “No.”

 

Masaki covered her lips as a gasp left them. She was so shocked that Shiro had spoken that she didn’t realize the danger they were in.

 

“But-“ Ichigo began to protest.

 

Shiro nodded towards the girl. “Wait.” He told his brother. Time seemed to stand still for the twins as the girls seemed to suddenly look angry, very angry before jumping into the river.

 

Ichigo’s eyes widened as he feared for the younger looking girl. “Shiro!” he yelled at his brother.

 

“Wait.” Shiro whispered causing Masaki to look towards the river.

 

As her eyes looked upon the water it suddenly seemed to explode upwards dozens of feet into the air. One word registered to her mind in that moment. Hollow.Fear gripped her heart as she grabbed up both boys under her arms and ran. Though she couldn’t see it, a monster hollow known to the Shinigami as Grand Fisher was high on her tail and closing in on her with every beat of her heart.

 

Shiro had never seen a spirit transform into something so hideous as the thing that was chasing them. It looked like a swamp monster with a mask and an angler as a tail. Suddenly Shiro found himself on his back in a wet puddle. The creature screeched as it whipped its tail at them. “Mom!” Ichigo’s voice cried out as the lure was about to catch ahold of her. Masaki grasped both of her boys tightly to her. Thinking that it would be bad if that thing touched them, Shiro did some quick thinking and threw his umbrella at the creature. The handle grasping the string of the lure as it went flying at the monster.

 

“Get up Mom!” Shiro yelled at her.

 

Masaki, however, found herself terrified to move. She’d always known that it would happen one day. That they might come across a hollow and that she’d have no way of protecting her children from the monster. A defining sound pierced the air suddenly causing her to cry out as she covered her ears.

 

As this was happening, Grand Fishers hook that had been thrawted by a mere umbrella was now hooked onto an electric wire because of the umbrella. He screeched in pain as electricity went through his body. Angrily he pulled the lure away, only to pull the pole and wires with it. The pole went down with a crash.

 

Masaki’s screams echoed in the air as something hard and heavy landed on her lower back. Both Ichigo and Shiro wiggled our from under their mother. Shiro spotted the live wires everywhere. “Shiro, Mom needs help!” Ichigo cried out as blood seeped from a wound on their mother’s back.

 

Shiro looked away from his mother to the monster that was sizzling but still very much alive. His instincts were telling him to both run and protect. _How can I do both? How can I protect Mom and Ichi? How can I get to safety? How-_ Without thought of what he was doing, Shiro found his body acting on it’s own. Raising his hand and holding it up at the creature, Shiro yelled out. “Go away!” A beam of red and black swirling energy shot out from his hand towards the monster. Tearing through flesh and bone, disingrating it to a pile of ash. The monster screamed as it’s front leg and lure were destroyed instantly by what could only be a cero. Quickly, it escaped through a dark portal which sealed behind it.

 

“Shiro...” Ichigo said with awe in his voice when suddenly he heard a plop sound as Shiro passed out leaving Ichigo alone in the street with both his mother and brother unconscious and not knowing what to do.

 

Meanwhile, across the city in an old run down storage building a group of eight people suddenly felt the release of a powerful cero within the city. Worry etched their faces as they knew what this could only mean, the Shinigami would come and investigate this town in order to find the hollow who had released such an attack. At the same time within a small shouten candy shop, Kisuke Urahara looked out at the city through the bamboo shades on the windows of his shop and worried about the consequences that would be inflicted should he and those hiding within the city be discovered by the soon arriving Shinigami investigators.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: So Masaki lives. Yes this will change things to the story. Not sure by how much just yet. I listened to everyone’s requests to let her live. Now we shall see what changes because of this. Hope you liked that I gave Shiro his cero, now he’s about to learn where this power came from and what he truly is.


	10. Aftermath

**Chapter 10** : _Aftermath_

* * *

 

Shiro sat on the hospital bed with Ichigo holding his uninsured hand. His hand that he had fired the red beam out of was red, swelled and lightly burned, like a really bad sunburn. Next to him Ichigo sat on the gerney holding his uninjured hand. Their mother had been wheeled into the emergency room, leaving them with a nurse who looked weird and an old man that both children knew was a spirit. Closing his eyes, Shiro tried to recall what had happened, but all he could remember was the evil spirit that had tried to kill them.

"Ichi." Shiro whispered, his voice wobbling with emotion. "Am I a monster?" He was asking this because he knew he had done something to cause the monster to leave and only monster could be afraid of other, more evil monsters.

Ichigo watched the nurse talk to another nurse about them before answering. "No. You saved us." he stated as he looked away from the nurses to his twin. "You're my hero, Shiro." He said with a wide grin.

I'm a- "Hero?" he asked with confusion.

"You made the monster leave and saved us." Ichigo reiterated. "So that makes you a hero."

Shiro, overcome by emotion, wrapped his arms around Ichigo's neck before crying and crying some more. "ICHIGO! SHIRO!" Both boys pulled away from each other upon hearing their father's loud voice.

"POP!" They both cried out before jumping off of the stretcher they'd been sitting on and ran towards their father who was at the nurse's station calling out for his son's. Isshin bent down to scoop them up, both of the boy's crying as they wrapped their arms around their father's neck.

"I've got you. I've got you." Isshin's voice repeated. "You're safe." He told them before he kissed the top of their head's before pulling them tightly to his chest in order to reassure himself that his boy's were alive and safe.

"Pop." Ichigo whimpered against his father's chest.

"Mom." Shiro said, surprising his father that he was talking. "Mom is hurt."

"It was a monster!" Ichigo yelled at his father gaining wide eyes.

"Did it touch any of you?" he asked, no sign of his usually joking self.

Both shook their heads vehemently. "No." Shiro answered for the both of them before looking at his hand.

Isshin looked at the bandaged appendage. He was about to ask what happened when a nurse walked up to him. "Mr. Kurosaki, Dr. Horoshi will be a moment; he's the doctor assigned to your wife's case." she said with a gentle smile appearing on her face.

Isshin sighed. "Thank-you." He then looked at Shiro. "What about my son?"

"Ah, Shiro has suffered first degree burns to his finger's, palm and wrist." she explained. "First responders didn't even know he was injured until they saw the swelling of his hand. It looks no worse than a sunburn, but because he seemed to be in some discomfort when touched, I was told to treat his hand with some ointment." She smiled at Shiro who hid his face against his father's leg. "He's a bit shy though."

"How did he get burned?" Isshin inquired as he touched the top of Shiro's head, gently petting the white hair there.

"We are unsure." she admitted. "The powerlines would have electrocuted him, but there's no electrical burns. It's as if he was close, too close at that, to a heat source."

"But there was no such thing near him when he was found." Isshin finished for her, gaining a nod. "Thank-you."

* * *

 

Several hours passed after their father had arrived. The pain meds had finally kicked in for Shiro, meaning he had fallen asleep with his head against Isshin's lap. As he slept, Ichigo had told him about the ugly monster, but for some reason he stumbled with his words as to where the monster had gone or what had happened to it. Isshin had stopped pushing his son for answers when he spotted the tears of frustration begin to form at the corners of Ichigo's eyes.

This led him to think that perhaps Shinigami were involved somehow and after the fight they had erased his son's memories of the event. _It wouldn't be the first time they had done such a thing._ he thought as he felt Ichigo's head slump against his arm. Lifting his arm slightly, he placed Ichigo's head on his other lap and sighed as he began to settle into the spot he was in for the evening when he spotted Ryuken Ishida with a young boy following him. A woman was on a gerney, which left a hollow feeling appear in the pit of Isshin's stomach. _Did something happen to Kanae?_ he wondered before closing his eyes, praying that the woman would be alright and that he'd be able to see his Masaki soon.

* * *

 

Shiro woke up and found himself in an upside down world with large towering buildings going everywhere! It was a bit chaotic. "Hello?" he called out, causing his voice echo and bounce off of the buildings. "Is anybody here?" Nobody answered, or at least no one spoke as a shadowy figure appeared behind him. Sensing this Shiro spun around on the surface of the building. "Who are you?"

"Should not the question be, who are _you_?" the being asked as the shadows around it revealed a black masked man wearing a white haori and hakama pants.

Shiro took a step back away from the figure, his dark eyes widening as he spotted the black circular mark on the beings body, coupled with the mask and sword, he felt some fear towards this being. "I am Shiro." he answered. "Shiro Kurosaki."

"Oh?" the being questioned. "That might be partly true, but it's not the full truth." The landscape changed and Shiro was once again by the river with his injured mother, crying brother and the monster spirit. "What kind of monster is that?" the being asked him.

"An evil spirit?" Shiro asked only for the being to feel like slapping his hand to his face.

"Okay. I'll give you that one." he stated dryly. "But the evil spirit is actually called a hollow and this one was after something very scrumptious." Shiro looked confused, because he didn't see anything yummy to eat. "You, ya idiot." The being looked at the stilled version of Ichigo. "And him." He pointed at the orange haired boy.

Shiro's eyes widened. "I won't let a hollow hurt my brother!" he yelled.

"Good ta know." the being spoke before the scene vanished, only to return to the buildings everywhere. "Now, before you gave me your name Shiro, but I told you that wasn't the full answer." Shiro nodded. "Your father is trying to hide your true nature from you. A bit of that nature has leaked into your brother. So, in order to help Ichigo understand himself one day, you first need to know the truth of yourself." The being scratched the back of his neck. "I may have been locked away fer awhile, but when I woke my memories leaked into your dreams. You and I are one and the same. We may not look it, right now, but we were the same being. Being born human has changed us and then having our true self sealed away," He pointed at himself at this. "we became separate beings." Lifting the white sword, that looked like a huge knife instead of a sword, onto his shoulder. "Now, it would seem I've taken on the role of a spirit in your inner world and you're the one in control. I'm what others would call a zanpakuto spirit."

"What's a zanpakuto?" Shiro asked, his golden eyes staring down the masked being.

The being slammed the sword into the glass of the building they were standing on, causing stress cracks to appear around it. "This sword is a zanpakuto and I'm its spirit form manifested." the being answered.

"The what's your name?" Shiro asked.

Under the mask the being smirked. "It's a mouthful." he answered before continuing. "Shiro-..." As he spoke the rest Shiro found it said in silence, as if someone had just muted the spirit's words.

Shiro looked confused. "Huh?" he asked, his brows furrowing in confusion.

"Seems you are not ready." the being said sadly. "Does not matter. The more we speak to each other the more likely you will hear my name next time I speak it."

When Shirk opened his eyes he was once again in the real world and not in that strange world. He found himself looking straight at a sleeping Ichigo, though he did notice that he was laying on an actual bed this time. Pushing himself up, he heard a beeping sound. Turning his head caused his eyes to widen. There laid his mother, sleeping with all sorts of tube and wires everywhere. Fear seeped out of him, causing tears to begin falling. _What was wrong with her? Why does she need all that stuff on her?_ Black/gold eyes brimmed with tears that fell freely from them. His crying woke Ichigo up who upon seeing what made his brother cry, found himself overcome with emotion and begin crying as well.

This was the turning point for the boys. Upon seeing their mother like this would change their perspective on things causing them both to become fierce protectors of those they considered friends and even more so with their own sisters. This path would one day lead them to a life that neither could have ever imagined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Yay, I got a moment to finish up this chapter. The next chapter will be a bit of a time-skip. Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. ^_^


	11. The Beginning

**Chapter 11** : _The Beginning_

* * *

 

"Doctor, we have a patient in here!" A voice yelled down the white interior halls of a small clinic.

Isshin Kurosaki quickly exited his office and was met by his youngest daughter, Yuzu. She looked so much like her mother, which caused his heart to tighten every time he saw her. The little girl, who wasn't so little anymore, looked from the crying boy to her father. "What do we have here nurse?" he asked her with a gentle smile as he bent down to examine the boy's leg.

"This is Akihiko, seven years old." she said as she read off his chart. "He was skateboarding when he fell off onto the fresh asphalt near his home. He has multiple abrasions on his legs and a fractured wrist."

As she read this Isshin began examining the boy, his mother's worried look had him working to ensure this was all the boy had. The cut on the forehead could have happened during the fall, meaning a possible concussion as well. "Follow my finger with your eyes." He told the boy and watched the child's eyes follow his finger. His response time was off a bit as his eyes looked tired. "Did you hit your head when you fell?" he asked the boy who nodded. "Did you loose consciousness at all afterwards?"

"He was out of it when his friends brought him home." The boy's mother answered with worry in her voice.

Isshin gave a nod as Yuzu left to quickly find bandages to tend to the cuts and abrasions. "I believe he may have a concussion." He the picked up the child's arm and examined his wrist. When he moved Akihiko's wrist the boy whimpered but held back any cries due to his mother's presence. "A possible fracture as well." When Yuzu returned he smiled proudly at her. "Good call on the fracture." He told her gaining a beaming smile from her. After cleaning and bandaging Akihiko up, Isshin then ordered a set of ex-rays to see if the wrist was fractured or not.

When everything was said and done it was decided the boy would return home but Isshin ordered the mother to do hourly check ups and if Akihiko lost sudden consciousness tocall for an ambulance and then call him and he'd meet her at the hospital. "Tired Papa?" Yuzu asked him as she finished cleaning up the things they had used that afternoon.

"Not really Yuzu." He answered her as he looked at his watch. "You wouldn't happen to know where your brothers are at this time of day?" To his knowledge neither had any extra curricular activities after school, which meant they should have been home nearly an hour ago.

"They were at the park." A new voice said causing both to look towards the owner of it. The eldest of the two girls, Karin, stood at the doorway entrance with a soccer ball in her arms before she threw the ball at her father, hitting him in the face. "Unlike you, they remembered that I had a game this afternoon!" she yelled at him, her face contorting into anger as she pushed her black hair out of her eyes with frustration. "I'm not angry at Yuzu for forgetting but you made a promise to be there!"

"Karin!" Yuzu cried out in shock as Isshin pulled the ball off his face.

"I'm sorry Karin!" he yelled with tears in his eyes before grabbing her up in a hug. "Forgive me!"

"Ugh!" She groaned in disgust at his fake tears but she knew he wouldn't quit until she said she'd forgiven him. "Only if you order from Haswon's Take Out Curry tonight."

"A hard bargain," he mumbled as he scratched his day old whiskered face. "but I'll take it!" he said with a wide grin.

Karin groaned at his childish antics. "I've got homework." she told him as she left him, Yuzu following her asking her about the game.

Isshin touched his chin. _Still, the boys should've been home by now._ he thought as he picked up the phone to order the take out.

* * *

 

"Shut up!" A very loud voice rang throughout the alleyway. Three boys surrounded one boy with very orange hair. Ichigo Kurosaki had toughened out over the years. Bullies or punks pulling him into an alleyway to beat him up wasn't new to him. The odds were always against him, with some fights starting out with three to six guys against one. He also was a bit touchy about his hair color, as most teased him relentlessly about it until his temper gave in and he fought them.

He threw a punch at one, only for the other two to kick or swing something at him. Going back to what he had been taught at Tatsuki's dojo as a child, Ichigo could move his body at a higher speed than most kids his age. Kicking one kid in the side, catching a pole with his hand from another and then punching the last boy, he quickly was able to defeat them or so he thought as a fourth suddenly jump out of the shadows at him.

Ichigo felt the punch to his face that sent him flying against the alley brick wall. The fourth boy was taller, slimmer than the other two. Kind of reminded Ichigo of one of his closest friends. "A freak like you should just give up." The punk spoke with a high and mighty tone. Frankly, it made Ichigo want to rip the bastards face off.

Snarling Ichigo could feel his anger getting the best of him. Freak. Dilinquent. Hooligan. Gangster. He'd been called these things since middle school solely because of his naturally orange hair. Teachers didn't believe him when he said it was natural. So once his brother had, had enough and said, "The curtains match the drapes and if you don't believe that then we can always show you it." That had caused a commotion in class for a few weeks. Thinking of his brother made Ichigo grin because at that moment a white hand came out of nowhere, grabbed the wanna be gangster and threw him into his friends.

"What the hell Ichi, you lettin' yer guard down now and lettin' these assholes rough ya up?" The white haired black/golden eyed teen looked from his twin to the punks who suddenly shivered at the sight before them. "Nobody touches my brother." He growled lowly before fisting his hand and swinging it at the obvious leader, punching him and knocking his lights out.

"D-D-Demon!" One of the other three screamed out causing all of them to scramble to their feet to run away.

Shiro grinned at the name as he leaned forward to look at the still unconscious leader. "Think he'll wet himself if I stay like this Ichi?" he asked his brother who shook his head at his twin's antics.

"Probably." he muttered as he rubbed his chin. "He's got a good right hook."

"Tch." Shiro snorted. "Pussy." He looked down when he heard a groan and grinned. "Good. Yer awake. Now I can eat yer soul, asshole."

The gangster wannabe whimpered before suddenly screaming bloody murder and running away. Leaving Shiro laughing his ass off and Ichigo shaking his head as he shook from his own quiet laughter.

A moment later a tall shadow could be seen at the entrance of the alleyway. "Ichigo?"

Both young men turned towards the voice. "Yo, Chad." Ichigo greeted happily as Shiro put on his sunglasses to hide his eyes and walked out of the alley behind Ichigo. The sunlight shone on his pale skin. The color of his skin always scared people, as did his eyes; which was why he tried to fit in by wearing normal looking clothes. His jeans were always tight and his shirts always seemed to have grey in them. While Ichigo usually had loud looking shirts on, Shiro couldn't get away with that. He looked up glaring at the sun before deciding to ignore it and follow Ichigo to their destination, home.

* * *

 

Ichigo plopped down onto his bed with a sigh. He heard Shiro drop his school bag onto the floor above him. After they'd turned twelve the boys had separated their rooms. Ichigo lived in their original while Shiro lived in the remodeled attic above Ichigo's head. Sometimes Ichigo missed sharing a room with his twin, but then there were times he was glad to have a room to himself. Like the first time he woke up with morning wood when he was twelve. That could've been more embarrassing than it had been. Or the time he had his first dream about a girl in class when he was in middle school. Shiro would've teased the hell out of him. As it was he still had to dodge questions from his father if he had those kinds of dreams. To this day he would deny making any noise of the sort.

Shiro on the other hand was currently sitting with his legs crossed on the floor meditating. He was once again entering his inner world and training with his zanpakuto spirit or should he say the hollow he once was. Upon learning the truth of his origins Shiro had begun training every single day. He wanted nobody to ever be able to defeat him or hurt Ichigo. He'd begun being able to sense Ichigo's own powers begin to expand. This worried him because of the constant threat of hollows coming after his brother.

 _As if we'd let anything touch him_. His inner demon said as he paused their training session. _Nothin' will hurt the kid; trust me._

Shiro raised a thin white brow at this. "Anybody ever tell you never ta trust anybody who says _trust_ _me_?" he asked the spirit who just shrugged at him not denying or confirming the question. "Ichi's gonna need training soon."

 _Yer brother can't until you teach him how ta talk to his zanpakuto._ the spirit told him. Shiro scratched the top of his head. He'd been procrastinating about talking to Ichigo about his zanpakuto and teaching him the stuff he had learned over the years. _If you don't, eventually a shinigami will come near the boy and once that happens, he won't hear it about you being a former hollow or what I am._

"Sure. Sure." Shiro dismissed his zanpakuto's worries. The chances of one of those bastards coming near their home was what, a measly one percent? Returning to the real world from his inner world Shiro began to take his clothes off and change for bed when he suddenly sensed something. With only his pants on he quickly ran downstairs only to see Ichigo rush passed him and a black haired girl wearing black clothing come out of his room looking shocked.

"How did he-" she began sounding dazed and unsure.

"Oi! Bitch!" he yelled at the girl causing her to look at him, her eyes widening as she took in his form. "What the fuck did ya do ta Ichi?" Her mouth opened to answer when Shiro hear Yuzu's scream. "Shit!" he cursed as he ran down a second set of stairs to find Isshin and Karin both unconscious. His eyes widening as he saw Ichigo taking on a damn hollow.

 _Looks like we're a bit late._ His inner spirit stated even as Shiro's legs pushed him to move forward to protect his brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I was gonna update Two of A Kind, but I got distracted by this story. I do have part of the next chapter for the other story done though. So, what do you guys think of this chapter. The time-skip went all the way to when Rukia appeared but I will be writing what happened between the time of Grand Fisher and the current timeline.


	12. Awakening

**Chapter 12** : _Awakening_

* * *

Shiro grasped Ichigo around his waist with an arm as he tackled his brother who held an unconscious Yuzu. The hollow's hand barely missed him as he took his brother down. Ichigo curled around Yuzu as they came down hard onto the ground. "Fuckin' hell Ichi!" Shiro shelled at his twin.

The orange haired teen look Yuzu over to ensure she was unharmed. "I didn't even think." he said as he turned his attention towards the creature in front of them.

"Fools! You could get killed!" the raven haired woman yelled as she jumped in front of them just as the monster slammed its fist towards them only to be throw backwards by a blast coming from the girl's hand.

"Why couldn't I sense the creature before it was upon me?" she muttered softly though both boys heard her. "It's as if something was buffering the sounds it was making. As if..." She grunted as the creature slammed its fist at her only to be blocked expertly by her sword. "The hollow must be attracted by his spirit pressure. It's the only thing that it can be."

"What?" Ichigo asked as realization hit him. "Me? I'm the one attracting that monster? I'm the one who put my family at risk?"

Shiro could see it in Ichigo's eyes. The guilt of having been responsible for their family almost being killed by the monster before them. However, before he could let Ichigo do something stupid he hit his brother on the back of the neck using a karate chop to do so. Knock unconscious, Ichigo fell to the ground next to his little sister and with it his spiritual pressure vanished, however, Shiro's was sill high and was teasing the hollow. Letting his anger coming out, Shiro glared at the Shinigami woman. "You better not be some weak ass bitch or else I'm gonna kill you after this!" he yelled at her as he touched base with his inner spirit. _Now what do we do?_

The hollowfied zanpakuto spirit grinned. _Now, I'm going to eject you out of your body. You may feel queasy afterwards_. Shiro was about to ask what it meant by that when he felt a sharp pain and light exploded around them.

* * *

Rukia Kuchiki had been in the living world for nearly a month when she had felt the high levels of spiritual pressure. She had been following a lead of a hollow that had suddenly vanished when she felt this new power. Tracing to the tiny family medical clinic she'd discovered the orange haired boy. She'd been shocked that the boy had been able to see her. Not only that, he could physically touch her. It had been unusual. Then, to add to things, he had broken her binding kido. She had gone to chase after him, as he'd sensed the hollow that she'd been chasing earlier, when another wonder had occurred; a second boy had appeared. White hair, gold/black eyes and high spiritual power had slammed into her throwing her off balance. The second boy, his power reminded her of a hollow, but he was obviously a human. _So how is this possible?_

Pushing these thoughts back, Rukia had run out of the house in time to see the hollow about to attack the two boys and their small sister. Without thought she began to defend them. Striking the hollow, she tried to understand why it was attacking them so desperately, until she understood the entire situation, but she'd accidentally spoke her thoughts out loud; a habit she still was trying to overcome. The second boy had knocked the first unconscious before threatening her. Not knowing what the boy could do, Rukia found herself preparing to defend herself from two threats when the white haired boy began to glow. She shielded her eyes from a bright light that came from the white haired boy. When the light died down she saw the boy in a white Shihakusho with a large zanpakuto upon his back, a white blade with black on the bottom with a black ribbon around the handle. The air around him swirled as the energy around him being released from his body began to settle.

"How-" she began when suddenly the hollow, who she'd momentarily had forgotten about, slapped her away. Rukia slammed into a vehicle, her head throbbing and bleeding as she lifted it up just in time to witness the hollow slam it's fist down upon the teens. A flash of energy was released as the white haired teen slashed the fist with his large white sword. Rukia felt her knees grow weak as she realized that the hollow's claws had scratched her and she had been poisoned by them. She began to feel her spiritual energy begin to be drained. _That boy..._ she thought as she saw him point his sword at the monster which roared mightily at him. At the tip of his sword a red ball of energy formed before being released. _...he's not human._ Her mind began to grow hazy as she felt her consciousness slip away. _What...is...he?_

When the red energy disappeared with it the hollow vanished into dust, leaving the white haired teen standing alone in the street. A tapping sound that sounded an awful lot like wooden shoes caught his attention. Turning his head towards the sound Shiro felt his inner demon quiver in fright and anger at the man before him. "Yo, Getabushi." Shiro greeted the man wearing the green and white stripped bucket hat and matching green haori. "Been a while."

"Shiro..." the man said as he examined with his eyes the home with a large hole in it, the unconscious children and shinigami woman. "What did you do?" The teen just grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Sorry that this was so short. I'll be updating a few other stories over the next week or two but I will return to this story. Promise!


	13. The Fun Begins...

**Chapter 13** :  _The Fun Begins..._

* * *

"Shiro..." the man said as he examined with his eyes the home with a large hole in it, the unconscious children and shinigami woman. "What did you do?" The worst scenario coming to his mind.

"Had no choice..." Shiro stated with a shrug of his shoulders as he hefted the large weapon over his shoulders, a grin spreading across his face as he did so. "A monster tried ta kill Ichi and my sister's. I had ta do somethin'." He scratched the side of his head. "The woman wasn't any help. The bitch got clipped by the creature."

"Clipped?" The man asked before quickly rushing over to her side and began to examine her as Shiro calmly did the same thing.

"She gonna be alright?" he asked, his golden eyes seeming to pierce through the other man.

"Perhaps." the man said as his Hand glowed green and began to heal her wounds on her back. He looked over towards the teen's body that laid next to his unconscious siblings. "Let's get you back into your body though." He raise his hand up and pushed the teen back towards his body with his cane.

"Pushy, pushy..." Shiro muttered as he willingly went into his body.

"To be able to leave your body without any help..." Urahara muttered under his breath.

"I'm stronger than ya feared, " Shiro finished for him causing the former shiitake captain to look at him with wide eyes. "am I right?" His question made the other man look at him with worry. "I remember what Pop's made ya do ta me. He was scared, I understand that; but yer lookin' at me like I've grown another head."

Urahara removed his striped bucket hat. "I'm sorry Shiro." he apologized . "You are an unknown element."

"Because I used ta be a hollow? " he asked, surprising the other man once more. "I know more than anyone thinks I know." He looked away from the other man. "I'm not a monster anymore though. "

"That is true." Urahara agreed as he picked up the fallen shinigami woman and threw her over his shoulder. "Take your siblings home. Tomorrow I want you to come by my shop."

"Don't know about that..." Shiro traded as he picked up little Yuzu easily. He knew he'd have to come back for Ichigo though. "Ichi and I have stuff ta do."

"Like starting fights." Urahara inquired causing the white haired teen to tense up.

"Yer a sly one, ain't ya?" he asked only to see the other man had already left. "Tch." He looked down at Ichigo. "Guess we'll have ta be on our toes around him; right Ichi?" He grinned down at his unconscious twin.

* * *

Ichigo awoke the next morning with a killer headache. Throwing his legs over the side of his bed, Ichigo slowly gained his equilibrium before standing up. He remembered everything that had happened the night before. The monster attacking his family because of his ability to see spirits. Shiro had been there. He remembered seeing his town's body fall to the side before seeing him in an outfit similar to that woman's, only white. Then he remembered nothing at all.

 _Shiro knocked me out, but not completely._  he thought as he stood from his bed and began dressing himself in his school uniform.  _He knows how to knock me out, he's done it before. So why did he..._  The answer came to him a moment later. _He wanted me to know even if I wasn't fully aware, right?_  Indigo wasn't stupid, like a lot of people thought he was. He was actually close to the top of the class this year, he just dumb down his answers to questions to keep his teachers and classmates from knowing the truth.

Walking out into the hall, Ichigo heard the shower going. He also knew it was Shiro. Giving the door a knock, he heard his brother answer. "Yeah?"

"Is it safe? Ichigo asked with a smirk on his lips. One thing about Shiro was he wasn't shy to bare it all to the world, even if Ichigo was.

There was a laugh. "Sure, just finishing up." He answered, his voice sounding as if there was a tease somewhere in his answer.

Ichigo carefully opened the door and began his morning routine of brushing his teeth and hair before washing his face. When he wiped his face with the towel he saw Shiro in the fogged up mirror. The other boy had a towel around his waist. "What?" he asked his twin who was smirking at him.

"I'm thinkin' ya should grow yer hair out a bit." he said reaching up and playing with his brothers short cropped spiked orange hair.

Ichigo looked at his brother's eyes through the mirror. How was he to broach the subject of what happened the night before when Shiro was acting so nonchalantly? Spitting the toothpaste out of his mouth and rinsing it, Ichigo turned just as Shiro finished putting his pants on. Placing a hand against Shiro's chest he pushed him against the wall.

"Ich-" Shirk began only to stop at the look of indecision upon his brother's face.

"Last night," Ichigo began. "what the hell was all that?"

"So, ya  ** _do_**  remember." Shiro stated as a smirk crossed his face. Pushing Ichigo's hand from his bare chest Shirk grasped his school shirt. "Shit is what happened." He said the shirt over his head before taking his hand and pushing his hair back. "i was hoping' ta talk ta ya before that all happened, but shit... " He looked away towards the bathroom door as he heard laughter coming from the downstairs. "Yuzu was in trouble and that bitch said it was yer fault; but it wasnt! It was mine too." He looked back at Ichigo who was looking at him like he didn't know his own brother. "There's a lot ya talk about, okay?" Ichigo have him a nod. "Just know I wasn't keeping' this stuff a secret because I wanted to, but because I  ** _had_**  to."

 _Had to?_  Ichigo wondered with furrowed eyebrows. "Ichi! Shiro! Breakfast is ready!" Yuzu's voice came up the stairs just as the brother's began their decent.

"Yeah, yeah. Quit yer hollerin'. " Shiro said as he and Ichigo came down the steps.

As the boy's came to the bottom step they were suddenly grabbed at. Shiro was tossed one way as Ichigo was suddenly put into a choke hold. Shiro slid across the floor with his socks before running full speed at their attacker, their father. Isshin was about to side step Shiro's rush when the white haired boy jumped, hooked a leg around his neck and took Isshin down who subsequently released Ichigo who kicked their old man in the side.

"Dumbass, why do you attack us evere morning!?" Ichigo yelled at his father before turning away, now annoyed.

Shiro tackled at finally knocking the old man on his ass. "Ya weren't ready fer that one, were ya goatface?! " he yelled with glee before getting back to his feet.

"Father!" Yuzu yelled at him as she began to chastised him for attacking her brother's the first thing in the morning.

Isshin had the decency to look ashamed as he was verbally attacked by his youngest child. "Ah, Yuzu..." He cried with came tears.

Ichigo handed Shiro some toast from the plate on the table before the two made a quick exit. Yuzu's voice could be heard as they left the Kurosaki household. "We'll talk about last night later." Ichigo told him as he spotted their friend up ahead of them.

"Of course." Shiro assured him. Neither boy realizing that soon both of the lives was about to change forever as at that same moment Rukia Kuchiki made her way to their school. A look of determination was upon her face as she was going to learn how those two boys had the power they did, one way or another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: First, I'd like to apologize for not updating much last month. Things have been hectic. I was planning on updating sooner, but then I got a new tablet and had a nec heck of a time transferring my stories to it. I still have yet to transfer Two of A Kind and couple of others. Any way, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. ^_^


	14. Hollow No More

**Chapter 14** :­ _Hollow No More_

* * *

 

Shiro didn’t like to brag; often, but h­e and Ichigo were some of the smartest k­ids in school. Ichigo usually ranked nea­r tenth, but Shiro almost always was nea­r the top of the class. So it was no sur­prise to some that Shiro was in an advan­ced class while Ichigo stayed in his nor­mal classes. So when lunch came around t­hat afternoon it was Shiro who was pisse­d off at the sight of Rukia standing nex­t to his brother on top of the roof. “Wh­at the hell are you doing here bitch!” S­hiro yelled as he pointed his finger at ­him. 

Ichigo, meanwhile had been trying to de­al with her quietly all morning long. He­ recalled her alright and she was beginn­ing to really annoy him. She kept saying­ he and his brother had powers. Okay, su­re, Shiro did; but him too? The girl was­ crazier than his old man. A look of ann­oyance was permanently etched onto his f­ace. Looking over his shoulder at Shiro,­ he grinned. _Finally! Some back up._ he t­hought as Rukia glared at Shiro. 

“Hollow.” She mumbled under her breath ­and before Ichigo to yell out she’d spok­en a kido spell. “Disintegrate, you blac­k dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself w­ith horror and then claw out your own th­roat! Bakudo number nine: Geki!”

“Huh?” Shiro said with confusion when s­uddenly he was engulfed in a red light, ­completely paralyzing him. 

“What are you doing!?” Ichigo yelled at­ her. “That’s my brother!”

“Brother?” Rukia inquired before frowni­ng at Ichigo. “That thing is a hollow!”

“Grrr....” Shiro growled out as suddenl­y the red light evaporated into nothing.­ 

“I-Impossible.” Rukia muttered in shock­ and a bit of awe. Her kido incantations­ were perfect. She was always able to ho­ld back low class hollows with them easi­ly. _Could it be he’s of a different clas­s of hollow than I thought?_

“Now yer really starting to piss me off­.” Shiro grumbled as he stalked towards ­the woman. “Who the hell do ya think you­ are?” He grasped her by her school unif­orm. “Listen up and listen good, I ain’t­ the bad guy here! I’m flesh and bone bi­tch! A human!”

“You’re eyes give you away hollow.” Her­ eyes narrowed at him. “So does you reia­tsu.”

He released her, causing her to stumble­ backwards away from him. “Yet yer only ­half right.” he admitted before looking ­at Ichigo guiltily. “I was a hollow, but­ I was reborn a human. My zanpakuto explai­ned it to me awhile back. I was somethin­g called white. I attacked Pop while a h­ollow, but Mom got in the way. I don’t k­now how but I ended up inside of her.” H­e leaned back against the stairwell. “Wh­en Ichi was created, so was a body for m­e. Eventually I forgot what I was and be­came human; but Pops didn’t forget.” He ­looked Ichigo over. “That’s one of the r­easons he’s always hated me. The other i­s because I have such high reiatsu I att­racted other hollows. Mom got hurt becau­se of me Ichi. I’ve always known, but wh­en it was confirmed by my zanpakuto, it ­made me want to get stronger in order ta­ protect everyone. Weirdly, I don’t hate­ Pop for hating me. I am a monster; just­ not the one everyone thinks I am.”

Rukia went to open her mouth only for I­chigo to speak up first. “It doesn’t mat­ter.” he stated surprising his brother b­y the look on his face. “What you were i­s in the past, what you are is what matt­ers right now.” He stepped forward towar­ds him. “You’ve never hurt Yuzu or Karin­ and from what I remember, you protected­ me last night.” He glared at Rukia. “He­’s not a monster, he’s my brother and if­ you try to hurt him,” he cracked his kn­uckles. “I’ll be forced to fight you.”

 _H-He’s serious._ Rukia thought surprise­d. _Though there’s no law saying a reborn­ hollow has to be killed, I’m sure it’s ­because it’s never actually has happened­ before._ “As long as he hasn’t tried to ­eat Souls, I can’t really do anything. I­’ve never even heard of a hollow named W­hite before.”

Shiro grinned. “That’s because someone ­created me.” he stated surprising her. “­Don’t ask who, ‘cause I don’t know. I do­ know that I was created from thousands ­of souls put together and not just any s­ouls, but Shinigami ones. It’s why I’m s­o fucking strong.”

Ichigo shook his head. “So somebody is ­going around killing Shinigami and makin­g them into hollows?” he asked gaining a­ shrug from his brother. 

“Truthfully?” he asked Ichigo. “I don’t­ know. I just know what my zanpakuto tel­ls me. He also told me that yer just as ­powerful but I think that’s fer another ­reason.”

“Great.” Ichigo said this with great an­noyance in his tone.

This looked between the two brothers. Sighing, she knew that she couldn't take Shiro on in the condition she was in. Without her powers she'd be minced meat before she even was able to call upon a powerful enough kido spell before he killed her. She had already seen that he could disspell low level bakugo. She needed to analyze the situation and if it was called for, she would destroy this hollow/human hybrid. "Very well," she announced, gaining their attention. "I will concede, but don't think I'm not going to be keeping an eye on you from now on." As she said this she suddenly pointed at him. "Since you are responsible for me loosing my powers, you will now take over my shinigami responsibilities."

Shiro raised a pale eyebrow at her in confusion. "Huh?" he asked. "Why is it my fault that you couldn't fight correctly against a weak assed hollow?"

Rukia glared at him. "You distracted me." she stated with an annoyed look.

Shiro crossed his arms over his chest. "You should have paid attention!" he countered.

Ichigo looked between the two as a grin slowly began to spread across his face. The two were arguing over something so stupid. It was actually kind of cute. "How about both of the boys help our until your powers have returned?" A deep voice said causing Everyone to look for said voice.

Everyone looked towards the roof ledge and saw a black cat sitting there looking all so innocently. "Who said that?" Ichigo asked as he looked around for the owner of the voice.

"I did." the cat answered, looking all too smugly now as it jumped down from the ledge and sauntered towards them.

"T-The cat talked." Ichigo stuttered as he pointed at the black cat as it stood before them shock evident in his features.

Shiro wasn't as affected as Ichigo was, only because in the last several years he had seen a lot of weird shit, but this was actually a first for him. Bending down he eyed the cat suspiciously. "Yer with the weird guy, aren't ya?"

The cat smirked at him. "Perhaps." it answered as it tried to stay away from that subject. "My name is Yoruichi and as Urahara helps Ichigo gain his powers, I'll be testing your strength in order to determine how we should approach your training." She looked Rukia over who was staring at her like she was a ghost. "Is something wrong?"

"No. " Rukia answered quickly before looking away. _Brother talked about a Yoruichi before, but she wasn't a cat._ She eyed the feline over from the corner of her eye. _Or was she? I must keep track of her and see exactly what she is planning. According to brother she is a traitor worse than Urahara_. "I'll be joining you."

"Humph." the cat snorted softly. "Suit yourself." Turning it's gaze back at Ichigo it narrowed it's eyes at him. _He doesn't feel like a human boy. Urahara was right in contacting me. These two will be targets of we don't act now._ "Find me at Urahara's shoten after school. Your training begins immediately." With those final words the feline jumped into the air and vanished just as the lunch bell rang signalling that lunch was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Sorry for not updating this story sooner. I have been extremely busy this month. Hopefully things calm down a bit for me to continue writing my stories.


	15. Ichigo's Training

**Chapter 15** :  _Ichigo's Training_

* * *

Shiro glared at Urahara as the older man talked to Ichigo about his latent Shinigami powers. His brother, on the other hand, looked bored stiff; however, Shiro could see through that mask. Ichigo was actually quite enraptured in what the other man was saying, even if he didn't look it.

Shortly after arriving at the shoten with Rukia, the twins were introduced to Urahara. Shiro, having already met the man more than once, didn't need to be introduced, but it seemed Ichigo didn't recall the strange man from their childhood. They were led down a ladder into an underground training room that looked like a desert with rock formations. This was where they'd hone their abilities.

Shiro's eyes did widen in surprise when Ichigo was suddenly knocked out of his body and forced into his soul form. The large hand grasping his shoulder was the only thing stopping him from slugging the blonde haired bastard. Looking behind him, Shiro eyed the larger man suspiciously. "Give the boss a chance." he told the younger man. "I know you want to protect your brother, but look at Ichigo." The look of determination was in Ichigo's eyes, even as he had a hard time breathing. "He will be fine. The boss may be reckless at times, but there's a geniusness to that reckless behavior."

"Tch." Shiro scoffed. He didn't doubt the other man to be smart, but if he hurt Ichigo in any way... His fist tightened at his side. He wasn't a very forgiving person by nature.

It only took fifteen minutes for Ichigo to get use to the exercises that Urahara him go through. That was when he introduced a little girl and boy, Ururu and Jinta. Even from where he stood, Shiro could feel the power coming from the two children. The girl was several times more powerful than the red haired boy, but even the boy's power couldn't be ignored. Crossing his arms over his chest Shiro waited to see what these two kids would do to his brother, which he didn't need to wait very long to see.

Ichigo was told to put some boxing gloves and headset on. The orange haired teen really didn't see how these instruments would help him in gaining his latent powers, but he decided to do as he was told. Looking over at Shiro, Ichigo felt a shiver run up his spine. Shiro's usually calm features looked on the verge of being feral. The usually comforting gold on black eyes almost looked like burning amber. Suddenly the little girl, Ururu ran towards him, thrust her first at his face. This forced Ichigo to dodge the attack. The soul chain that was connected to him clinked as he moved. The young girl jumped from a rock into the air and kicked him in the face. Ichigo went flying through the air. As he stood up Urahara cheered.

"Congratulations Kurosaki!" he yelled "You survived Ururu's super kick."

"Barely!" he yelled. "She slammed me into a damn rock formation!"

"Yet you're able to move and dodge easily now." Urahara pointed out. "It's time for phase 2." Shiro then noticed the large man behind him move. "Tessai will help with this."

The man, Tessai, suddenly brought out a large hatchet. Ichigo freaked out. "What the-!?" Tessai proceeded to bring the hatchet down upon Ichigo's soul chain.

Both Rukia and Shiro yelled in sync. "What the hell!?" they both screamed at the eccentric man.

"Why did you just cut his soul chain!?" Rukia yelled at Urahara. "You-"

Suddenly a fist went into Urahara's face. "Gah!" Urahara yelled, dropping his paper fan in the process as he covered his damaged nose to stop any damage done to it. Having dropped to a knee, Urahara looked up to see a very angry teen glaring at him.

Shiro glowed a bright blue color as his reiatsu raised with his anger. "I told you not to hurt Ichi." he growled.

"Sorry, sorry." Urahara apologized even as he used a bit of healing kido so to stop his nose from bleeding. In his hand his staff shook slightly.  _Oh?_  he thought with peeked interest.  _Have you awakened?_  "Let me explain. " he began as he stood back up. "In order to awaken his latent power, Ichigo must go through this process." He looked Shiro over. "Your power is already awakened." He then muttered quietly. "Though I'm still trying to figure out through what process that occurred." Returning his attention to Ichigo who was now at the bottom of a pit Tessai had created. "Ichigo!" he yelled down to the teen. "You now have 3 days to gain your shinigami powers, otherwise I'm afraid you'll die when you become a hollow."

A knot appeared on Shiro's forehead as his anger once again decided to make an appearance.  _Can I please kill this bastard?_  he asked his zanpakuto who chuckled as he leaned against one of the many building in Shiro's inner world.

 _You can try._  the former hollow answered.  _But it would be a waste of energy. That man is too powerful and you would not be able to stand against him. S_ hiro took a deep breath as he tried to call himself. His reiatsu was a different story though as it was swirling around him like a angry storm cloud.

Rukia suddenly hit Shiro over the head. "Stop throwing your reiatsu around like an angry child!" she yelled at him.

"Ah, yes." Urahara spoke softly. "Now let's deal with you Shiro."

 _This should be good._  The teen mused as he rubbed the spot the midget demon had hit him. "Deal with me how?" he asked with annoyance in his tone. Suddenly his alarm on his wrist watch went off.

"Is something wrong Shiro?" Urahara say how the teen looked from his watch to where Ichigo was struggling in the pit.

Shiro gave him a smirk. "Your time is up." he told Urahara.

"Eh?" Urahara asked wanting the teen to elaborate.

"I told you at the beginning of all of this that K would only stay for two hours." Shiro told him as he turned to leave.

"W-Wait a second. " Urahara said trying to get the boy to stay. "I haven't even begun with your training."

Shiro looked over his shoulder as he held his book bag over said shoulder. "Guess Ichi shouldn't have taken so long." he said with a shrug before walking away towards the ladder. "I'll be back later." However before he shut the door to the upstairs he turned towards the older man. "You better not kill my brother, otherwise, I'll be forced to unleash the monster you all fear I am. " With that warning Shiro left the shoten.

* * *

Three days to Ichigo went by a lot fast than he thought they would. As his soul chain began to disappear he suddenly found himself thrusted into a strange world of buildings that went every which way. It was weird and confusing in every sense. Soon after meeting the old man in the sunglasses and black coat the world around him began to shatter.

_In one of those boxes you will find me, but you must hurry._

Those were the words the old man kept saying. Why? Why did he have to hurry? Other than the world around him beginning to shatter. Ichigo really didn't understand how he was to find his sword if he didn't know what it even looked like. Suddenly he felt a strange sensation overcome him. A warmth spread from his chest to his right hand. Looking at his hand he saw a red and black cord wrapped around it. The cord led him through the water to a single box that had the cord wrapped tightly around it.

 _That's it!_  he thought and without hesitation Ichigo opened the box and reached inside and grasped the hilt of the sword. A light surrounded him suddenly before everything around him vanished within that light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Yay! I got another chapter up this month! I'm on a roll. Which story should be next I wonder? LoL.


	16. Visit

**Chapter 16** :  _Visit_

* * *

Meanwhile, as Ichigo was in the middle of his training with Kisuke, Shiro headed out of the shoten. Rukia was curious about the once-hollow and where he was going. She was certain he wasn't as innocent as Ichigo claimed his brother was and being the determined type of person that she was, followed him discretely. Watching him from on far, Rukia followed the white haired boy to an assisted living facility. Watching from the entrance she heard the brunette female receptionist at the front greet the fifteen year old.

"Hello Shiro!"

Shiro smiled his sweetest smile at her, his black gold eyes covered by his sunglasses so they didn't scare anyone. "Aimi." he greeted her. "How are those boys of yours?"

"Oh, keeping me busy." she stated with a giggle. Knowing why he was there she pointed down the hall to her left. "She's in the sunroom today." She then noticed something odd. "Where's your brother? You two are never seen without the other."

He gave her a shrug. "Busy." was his single worded answer before walking away towards the sunroom down the hall.

Once he was out of sight Rukia approached the human woman. "Excuse me?" She began trying to act like a shy schoolgirl. "I'm a friend of Shiro's, but I was wondering why he was here?"

Aimi looked at the young girl in front of her. The way she was wiggling in the sundress and acting all shy was adorable. She pulled off her black framed glasses and smiled sweetly towards her. "You do know about the accident years ago, correct?"

"Of course." Rukia answered, lying of course. She had heard from rumors that years ago Ichigo and Shiro had been hurt but didn't know the full details. "Both Ichigo and Shiro were hurt during a storm one night, but that was in elementary school."

The woman nodded before stepping around the reception desk and began leading Rukia down the corridor. "Yes, but they were not the only ones." she told the girl as they came to a stop in front of a room with windows and a woman sitting in a rocking chair. Shiro was talking to the woman with a huge smile on his face, one that Rukia had never seen before. "Their mother covered them with her body. She was hurt severely and has yet to come out of it. She's awake, but she has no knowledge as to what is going on around her." She sighed. "Her boys come every week to see her. Her husband comes every day. I've only seen her daughters come once a month." She smiled softly at Rukia. "I'm sure it's because seeing her like this is hard for those girls."

Rukia touched her chin. "What caused this?" She looked at the woman. "Surely a storm couldn't cause this."

"She had bruises and cuts all along her left side of her body when brought in, but doctors were stumped as to what caused it." she answered before waving for Rukia to follow her. "You should leave now Miss. I don't want you to get into any trouble, but I hope this helps you in understanding those boys."

"Yes. It does help." she admitted as she left quietly, not knowing that Shiro had watched her leave after sensing her nearby. Dark eyes narrowed at the backside of the retreating shinigami.

After returning to his mothers side Shiro opened a book of poems and began reading the ones that were highlighted, remembering how she always read this book when he was a child. His chest tightened as he read one about the love of a mother towards her son, having always seen this one as something special. He felt her hand twitch in his hand as he came to a stop. Tears were already forming in his eyes. He knew the doctor said that she wasn't really responding to him or any of them, that when she twitched like this that it was just her nerves responding to stimulation from her therapy. Looking up into her eyes, Shiro could swear he saw recognition in them before it vanished.

"Sorry Mom." he apologized. "If I or Ichi weren't like what we are, you never would've been hurt that night." He kissed the back of her hand before returning to the poems.

* * *

Walking into their home later that night, Shiro could hear the laughter of his sisters and followed it into the kitchen where Yuzu was standing over the stove. Looking down at the Pan he saw that it was a stir fry. "A new recipe?" he inquired before snagging a bite of meat.

"Shiro!" Yuzu yelled out indignantly.

"Where's Ichi?" Karin asked as she looked up fromher homework.

"At a friends place tonight." he answered.

"And you're not staying with him?" Yuzu asked with shock in her voice.

Shiro knew they were teasing him. Looking away from them as his cheeks went pink with embarrassment he answered. "No." he mumbled.

Both girls grinned evilly before launching there arms around him. "That means we get you to ourselves!" Yuzu yelled happily.

"Plus side, Dad is out of town too!" Karin stated with a grin.

Shiro looked from arm to arm before mumbling, "Joy." sarcasticly. Both girls began giggling as they drug him towards the couch where they handed him the remote. Shiro was one of the few people in their household that knew the combination to get parental locks off of the tv, which meant that it was horror movie night!

* * *

The first night without Ichigo around wasn't too bad. Shiro had the girls to entertain himself with. Scary movies mixed with a brother who knew how to scare them, led to the girls sleeping in his and Ichigo's room. Waking up the next morning with a foot in his face and a hand over his eyes, wasn't all too pleasant. The next evening wasn't too bad either. He made sure the two ate, did their homework and bathed, before sending them to their room. Once again Isshin's was mia. Though this didn't bother Shiro, he was curious about why their father suddenly disappeared. Out of town for a convention that nobody had known about, just felt fishy. The morning of the third day was a Sunday morning. His nose twitched at the smell of food being cooked. Walking downstairs, Shiro expected to see Yuzu in the kitchen, but instead it was Isshin's cooking eggs, bacon and toast. The two empty plates meant that the girls had already eaten and were off with their day.

Isshin's looked up to see Shiro looking unsure. "Sit." he told his son by nodding towards the table.

Things were always tense between the two and without Ichigo to act as a buffer, Shiro was left feeling uncertain. Sitting and deciding not to start a fight, Shiro waited for his breakfast. Once the food was placed in front of him, the teen began to eat as if he was a starved person. A chuckle caused him to raise an eyebrow at his father.

"If I didn't know any better if think you had starved yourself over the last few days." Isshin stated as he ate his own breakfast. "Where is Ichigo?" The serious tone made Shiro flinch.

"A friend's place." he answered softly before taking a drink from his cup.

"You didn't stay with him?" Isshin inquired, seeking to probe the teen for answers.

"I don't need ta always be wit Ichi." his speech being impaired by the mournful of food causing Isshin's to frown. "He'll be home tonight." he said as he cleared his mouth and throat.

Isshin's studied Shiro for a moment, realizing how grown the boy had become. Yes, he still blamed Shiro for Masaki's condition, but he was truly trying to see the boy as something other than having once been a hollow. After a few moments of silence he gave a nod. "Alright."

After the awkward breakfast Shiro left the house and headed back to the shoten. Upon stepping out into the training room where the group were waiting, Shiro suddenly have a wide grin as he felt the rise of a great power coming from within the hole when suddenly a bright light, along with a huge amount of of energy exploded in the area. When Ichigo stood unharmed wearing Shinigami clothes, Shiro turned towards the shopkeeper. "Well, darn." He stated with sarcasm . "And here I was lookin' forward ta killin' ya." Walking over towards Ichigo, Shiro began inspecting his brother's new look.

Urahara scratched the back of his neck. "Was that suppose to happen?" Rukia inquired as she looked at the exiled former shinigami .

The power released had been huge, bigger than Kisuke had been expecting. "Yes." He said with some hesitance. "However, it is also a no. Yes, that could happen, but no, I wasn't expecting such a large explosion of power." He tried to explain. I suppose with these two I should have expected something as unexpected as that. He thought as he began to approach the twins. The next few hours were going to be interesting since now he was going to text the strength and endurance. After all, they would need to be strong for what laid ahead of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Yes! I'm back to writing this story once more. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it without too many interruptions. I hope you guys enjoy the upcoming chapters!


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